Finding the New Normal
by CanadianRose
Summary: Megamind is now the new defender of Metro City, but the job doesn't come as easily as he hoped.  Both he and Roxanne must find the new normal.  They meet new friends and new enemies, have new adentures, and just generally have a good time.
1. Chapter 1

*A/N Alright, so, I watched Megamind and basically fell in love with the movie, so I decided to write a fanfiction about it. If you're waiting for my next Doctor Who book, don't worry, I'll get started on it soon.

I don't think it was that easy for either Megamind or Roxanne to adjust to their changed lives. So, this is my idea of what went on after the movie. I think that this will be a more long-term project, as I don't really see any end to this story yet. I've got a lot of ideas. This story is going to be basically a mix of everything: romance, angst, adventure, suspense, friendship. So, let's get this story rolling.

Chapter One

The night was cold and damp. It had recently rained, and the streets and sidewalks were all wet. The streetlights' reflected glaringly off of the slick road. It was a quiet part of town. There were a couple stores along the street, but most were already closed, their windows dark and lifeless. Two of them were restaurants, and there were still people inside enjoying their meals. The apartments above had glowing windows. It was late, but not too late. People had finished work, come home, and eaten dinner. Now was the time to just relax, watch TV, read bedtime stories to the kids, and just enjoy one another's company.

However, one man was not doing that.

He trudged through the damp streets. Something was wrong with him. For one, he wore a simple tanktop. The people indoors were wearing coats. It was cool outside. His brown hair was long, unkempt, and greasy. It hadn't been washed in days. He was unshaven. And he just moved strangely.

He moved jerkily along the street. Sometimes he'd charge ahead, eyes wild, glancing over his shoulder as if something were after him. Other times he'd clutch his head and freeze, paralyzed by some internal factor. Still other times he'd wander around, muttering to himself, trying to decide where to go.

He was also talking to himself.

"No, she doesn't deserve that," he said. "You can't make me!... Just leave me alone! I'm not doing it!"

He was in a hot debate with some inaudible presence. The stakes seemed to be high. All of a sudden, he wheeled around and stared into the shadows.

"Come on! I know you're out there! I know you're watching me! Come out and show yourself!"

After a moment's waiting, he continued along the street, walking briskly. He did not see the object that was truly following him. It was primarily a spherical glass container, mostly blue, with electricity dancing within the orb. A single red eye watched the person. It hovered along behind him. It had intimidating steel jaws and several long, thin appendages dangling from beneath. This was an interesting situation, and could turn out to be dangerous. He had been watching this city uneventfully for days, and now this was happening. He wasn't sure if anyone was in real danger, but it sounded like something Daddy should now. So he sent the warning signal.

Meanwhile, at a place nearby, there was a room filled with screens. One had the video feed of the robotic observer, and this one was framed with red that flashed in time with a grating alarm. All the other screens showed plain old boring shots of the city with no flashing frames around them. The display was very effective at grabbing attention, but "Daddy" wasn't paying attention to the screens at this moment.

"Hmmm, the Death Ray, is that any use?" a voice came from a table some distance away from the screens. "No, I don't suppose. I've only used it once – for evil. No wait, I did use it to defeat the robot." He placed the emphasis on _bot_. "Trouble is, will I need it again?"

The table was a long, sleek one. Wadded up papers were scattered all over the floor. A small stack of them were on the table beside the occupied chair. The occupant wore a black cape and, as the chair was also black, it was hard to see where the chair ended and the cape began. The cape had an impressive, fan-like collar over which a blue orb was visible. The light from the screens illuminated it from behind.

"Oh, this is more difficult than I thought it would be," the figure said. "If I decide to keep it and turn out not to need it, then someone may just find it and use it for something evil. And if I decide to destroy it, it may happen that I needed it after all, and then Metrocity would be destroyed." The way he pronounced "Metrocity" rhymed somewhat with "atrocity".

He frowned at the paper. He hastily scribbled some diagrams on it, and then he scribbled them out even more hastily. The paper was wadded up and thrown to the floor. He raised his vibrant green eyes to the ceiling. "Oh, my giant blue head," he moaned. "It hasn't ached like this since the incident with Titan, and then it had a valid excuse. I never thought being a hero would be so difficult. I don't think Metro Man had this problem, and his brain is the same as those of the people. How did he do it?"

He got up off the chair and began to rub his large blue forehead, still unaware of the beeping from the screens. "I wonder if Roxanne has left any of that mediceen here. Minion?"

"Yes, sir?" With several clanks, a large, bulky figure entered the room. It resembled a gorilla, a robotic gorilla, and it was covered in long brown hairs. However, it's head was nothing more than a glass sphere with water in it. A fish resided in that water. He was small and round, with brown scales and pale tentacles drifting beneath him. He had sharp teeth, but his expression was friendly and his round brown eyes had a gentle expression.

"Do we have any of that mediceen left? You know, the stuff Roxanne gave me after defeating Titan?"

"Medi – oh, medicine. No, I think we're all out. I could run to the store to get some, sir."

"No, that's not a good idea. Now that we're heroes, we need to buy things properly, with money, but we don't have much left from getting the weapons of justice back. I'll – I'll just wait. It'll wear off soon."

"We could call Roxanne."

"We don't have a phone. I returned Bernard's once we found him in the washing machine, remember?"

"Ah, yes! Well, what if I take the invisible car and –"

"No, let's not bother Roxanne," he said with a sigh. "She's a busy woman. She hasn't been around much at all lately."

"Well, sir, you could just rest. Go to where it's dark and quiet, you know."

"Yes, dark and quiet sounds really good now." He suddenly noticed the alarm. "For Peace sake, could you please stop that annoying beeping? It's not helping at all!"

Minion opened his mouth to correct him when he realized where the beeping was coming from. "Sir, look! One of the brainbots found something!"

The blue man sprang onto the chair again, propelling it in front of the screen. There was a grin above his narrow goatee. "Ah, finally, someone needs our heroic asseestance!"

"I think the word is 'assistance'."

"Quiet, Minion! We must find out what's going on. What is this man doing?"

Minion watched intently. "He's… not doing anything, by the looks of it. He's just walking around."

"Shhhhh!"

They could now hear the man's speech.

"Are – are you sure?" the man said to no one in particular. "That sounds horrible! I don't want to do it. I've never killed anyone before… Yes, master. Yes, she does deserve it… Yes, I'll do it."

"He's going to kill someone," the blue man gasped.

"Wait a minute," the fish said. "Who's he talking to?"

However, once again his words were ignored. "We must stop him! To the invisible car! Megamind, defender of Metrocity, is going to encounter a villain for the first time!" He dashed away.

"Wait, wasn't Titan a villain?"

"That doesn't count," Megamind said, his voice echoing in the distance. "That was back when I was still a supervillain."

The man was nearby, and the invisible car was fast, so in only a few moments Megamind was watching from behind a corner. He rubbed his hands in glee. Finally, something exciting!

"What – what do I use?" the man asked. "I can't do it with my bare hands." He remained in place, listening. Apparently the conversation was still continuing. He nodded and grunted his assent. "Alright, I'll do it." His face was without expression, but there was a strange, frightened look in his eyes.

He walked forward, but then he saw the silhouette in front of him. He backed away as the silhouette advanced. Was it – the aliens, they had come for him! His master… or was he one of the others, the ones who didn't quite like him or what he was doing? The figure stepped into the circle of golden light. The perimeter crawled up his slim figure, illuminating the blue lightning bolt on his black outfit. Then his blue face was lit. "Ollo!" he said, smirking.

The man stumbled backwards, tumbling onto the ground. Megamind stared. That was unfit behavior for a villain. Who was this guy? "Get away from me!" the terrified man yelled. "Who – who are you?"

"I'm Megamind, defender of Metrocity! And you are…?"

"Steve," the man said.

Megamind frowned. "Steve? That's the best you could do, Steve? That's not a very terrifying name for a villain."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm no villain."

"I've been watching you, listening, too. I've heard what you said about that girl. And, now that I'm a hero, I'm here to make sure that you won't hurt her."

"No!" the man shouted, getting a little angry. Or perhaps it was desperation, not anger. "You must not stop me! I have to do it!"

"Why? Please explain."

"They told me to! They… argh, just go away!"

"No," Megamind said firmly. "Not until you tell me what's going on. Who told you to hurt her?"

"I – I think they're the aliens. They – _we_ need her out of the way. It's for the greater good!"

"You're communicating with aliens?"

"Yes. I'm the only one that can hear them. That's why they chose me. They're using me to save the world. Something bad's coming. Something really bad."

"So, killing this girl will prevent that bad thing from happening."

"Yes… well, maybe. I don't really know."

Megamind frowned. This was really strange. This man could be telling the truth, but murder? Was murder really acceptable? No, Megamind would not let that happen. Not until he found out the whole truth. "Perhaps you should wait a bit. Just… calm down and wait. Let's team up and find this out together."

At first the man seemed to be considering it, but then he shook his head violently. "No! I know what you're doing. You're one of them, aren't you?"

"One of who?"

"Get away from me!" The man threw his arms out. "Just… get away! Get away you devil! I – I'm going to kill you!"

Megamind backed away. "What?" Goodness, this man changed his mind quicker than people would flee a concert hall if Music Man decided to perform. "Calm down! You really think you can take on me? Come on, you don't even have any weapons!" He began to laugh.

However, Steve had zipped around the street like a squirrel on steroids. He went up, down, and around in circles. Then he lunged at Megamind, something glimmering in his hand. Megamind stepped out of the way, a quick glance revealing that it was a sharp shard of glass. Steve tumbled to the ground again, but he was soon up again, eyes wild.

Megamind had unholstered his dehydration gun and was now watching the man. The man was watching him, too. "I know what you're doing," Steve said. "You – You're trying to stop me. Well, you can't. The aliens, they'll protect me from you. They'll stop your evil mind-controlling tricks!"

"What mind-controlling tricks?" Megamind asked, confused. The street began to flash red. He looked up and saw with relief that the police were coming. Well, they'd probably have a better idea of what was going on.

"Yaaaaaaaa!" Steve yelled as he lunged again. However, Megamind was ready. Before Steve could plunge that bit of glass into his chest, he had transformed into a glowing blue cube.

Megamind picked up the cube. "I don't know what you were going to do, but you can't do it now. Another victory for Megamind, defender of Metrocity!"

The police came out of their cars in a hurry.

"Thanks for showing up! I did all the dirty work for you, but no hard feelings!" He laughed.

The police aimed their guns… at him.

"What?" Megamind gasped. "What are you doing? Didn't Minion call you?"

"No," one officer said. "We received a call about a disturbance in this area." It was hard to see the man because of the swirling lights, but his voice sounded familiar. "So, we meet again, Megamind. I'm not surprised. I knew that this reform was too—"

"Just what's going on here?" a female voice said. "Who's that, sherriff? And what happened to the other man?"

"I dehydrated him," Megamind said. "Don't worry, he's perfectly fine." He sighed. Here we go again. Back to jail. Well, maybe they'd listen to him this time. Maybe it wouldn't be for so long.

The woman walked out of the shadows. She was a short lady with dark, curly hair. It was already graying in parts. Her face was somewhat pretty, but it showed strength and determination. She strode forward confidently, a cane flashing in the red light. She stared at the cube, and then she stared at Megamind. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've been introduced," she said, extending her hand. "Dr. Evelyn Hart. You must be Megamind. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yes, but… just what have you heard about me?"

Dr. Hart was about to answer, but the sheriff interrupted. "Dr. Hart, this man is pretty much responsible for every disaster and all suffering Metro City has had."

"Sheriff, I don't know what your judicial system's like here, but where I came from, we give people the benefit of the doubt." She turned to Megamind. "Could you describe to me what happened?"

"Well, I was at the evil lair (I must really find another name for that place) when one of the brainbots sounded an alarm," Megamind explained. "I listened in and heard him talking about killing a girl. Naturally I had to intervene."

The sheriff snorted, but Dr. Hart prevented the oncoming retort with a raised eyebrow.

"He was going to kill someone? For what reason?"

"Well, he said the aliens told him to. And then he said I was controlling his mind and he jumped at me with a piece of glass."

"Ha, yeah right," the sheriff grumbled.

Dr. Hart looked at the sheriff intently. "I need several of your men here."

The sheriff eagerly took the chance to gloat. "Anything to prevent this creature from—"

"And I'll also need a glass of water," Dr. Hart said, taking the cube from Megamind. "I assume that's how you reverse it, right?"

"Yes," Megamind said.

A couple more police officers joined the small group. "Now, Megamind, I need you to stand outside the circle," Dr. Hart said. "We need to be as nonthreatening as possible. And you do look a little intimidating. And the rest of you, step back. We don't want to give him any reason to panic."

"What do you think's going on?" one of the officers asked.

"Auditory hallucinations, delusions, and homicidal ideation, but I don't know for sure." She dropped a stream of water onto the cube from a water bottle and stepped back. When Steve appeared seconds later, she just looked at him as if nothing unusual had happened. Steve was sitting on the ground, blinking dazedly. He seemed to be unaware of his surroundings. The piece of glass fell unheeded to the ground.

"Hello, my name's Evelyn Hart."

Steve just stared at her.

"Can you hear me?"

He nodded.

"Tell me your name."

"Steve Wilkinson," the young man said. He blinked dazedly.

"Steve Wilkinson," Dr. Hart said, looking over her shoulder. "Do you have any records on him?"

"Yes," a police officer said. "Truancy, disruptive behavior… all pretty recent."

"I'm not surprised. So, Mr. Wilkinson, what's been going on recently?"

"I've been busy," Steve said, still staring off into space.

"Busy with what?"

"Work. I—I need to help them. To save us. They need – just shut up!"

"I haven't said anything."

"I wasn't talking to you, just… be quiet! Leave me alone!"

"Steve, please tell me what you're hearing."

"Someone's taking control of my mind," Steve said, clutching his head. "I—I can't stop it. Somebody help me!"

"Steve, you're safe here. No one will hurt you. Let's get you to a hospital where they can make you feel better."

"No! He – he'll get me! Please! You must stop him!" He saw Megamind and then pointed frantically at him. "There he is! Stop him! Stop him, please! Save me!"

"What?" Megamind said.

"Somebody please stop him! He's putting ideas into my head! Stop! Get them out!" He covered his head.

"Well, that would explain what's going on with Miss Ritchi," the sheriff said loudly. "He's controlling her mind."

"I'm doing no such thing!" Megamind said, barging through the circle. "Come on, mind control? Even I can't do that! Please, you've got to believe me!"

"Stay away, Megamind," Dr. Hart said calmly. "And you, too, sheriff. We don't need him any more agitated. Please, someone call an ambulance, preferably with restraints."

"I'm on it," an officer said.

Megamind slowly walked away. Did they think he was guilty? The sheriff certainly did. There was a bit of glee in his voice when he accused him. But what about the doctor woman? It was hard to tell what she was thinking. She was treating the criminal like a patient. That seemed a little lax, considering that he had been threatening murder only minutes before. However, she had not allowed the sheriff to insult him further.

Suddenly, the sheriff grabbed him by his oversized collar. "Not so fast, buddy," he said in a low voice. "Both you and I know that there's only one place for you."

"Yes, I agree," Megamind said cheerily, knowing what he meant but hoping to divert the topic. "There's no place like evil lair. Though I really should change the name, now that I'm not an evil supervillain anymore."

"That remains to be seen. A leopard can't change its spots."

"I don't have spots."

"It's a figure of speech."

"Why don't you give me a second chance? Everyone else in Metrocity did."

The sheriff threw him down in disgust. "It's _Metro City,_ you imbecile. You should at least get the name right after all those years you've terrorized us. I know what you're doing. Now that Metro Man's gone, you think you can give us a false sense of security by—"

"I think that's enough, sheriff," Dr. Hart said from behind. "You're needed over there."

"Harrumph!" the sheriff snorted as he marched away, glaring down at Megamind.

"Old habits die hard, don't they?" Dr. Hart said, offering him a hand.

"Oh, but they do, eventually," Megamind said. "Just give me a chance."

"I wasn't talking about you," Dr. Hart said. She looked in the sheriff's direction. "You're making an effort. He isn't even considering it." She began to walk in the opposite direction. "Come on. They don't need me there now that the ambulance is on its way, and I think it'll be better if we're alone."

Megamind looked over his shoulder at the group of police cars. Steve wasn't putting up much of a fight. Megamind didn't want to stick around and wait for the sheriff to accuse him again, but he didn't know what Dr. Hart was intending to say. He didn't expect it to be anything nice. She seemed to be a newcomer, and newcomers generally were less accepting of big-headed blue aliens, whether they were evil or not. And he might get in trouble with the sheriff again if he left. The sheriff might just accuse him of performing some criminal act with Dr. Hart as the victim. However, he couldn't really refuse without arousing her suspicion and possibly her dislike, so he went with her.


	2. Chapter 2

*A/N Okay, this chapter's a long one. Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter Two:

They walked down the dimly lit alleyway, just the two of them. Dr. Hart strode along, as calm and confident as she would be if she were going to get a coffee with a friend, her cane tapping along beside her. Megamind kept looking at her. She seemed quite new. She didn't know what the dehydration gun was, and pretty much every civilian knew what that was after Titan's defeat. Still, she behaved quite naturally. Even though it had been several days after his victory, people were still accustomed to being wary of him… and he of them. And even if they accepted him as hero, they still were uncomfortable with how different he was. Not that it was his fault. However, Dr. Hart was taking it all in stride.

"I want to thank you for what you did tonight," Dr. Hart said suddenly. "You saved his life and the girl's life. If you hadn't dehydrated him, then the police officers may have used deadly force instead. Or he may have ended up in prison."

"Just what was going on with him?" Megamind asked. "He said that aliens were telling him to kill a person. He accused me of mind control. But you sent him to the hospital and now you're _thanking_ me."

"Right now all we can say is that he most likely has psychosis. We can't really get a diagnosis until we have a good history. Still, I'm leaning towards schizophrenia. His history, what little we were able to scrounge tonight, points to it."

"Seekosis?"

"Psychosis. It's a mental illness, one of the most severe types. People start seeing or hearing things, getting strange ideas, and lose touch with reality. They can't focus much on anything. You noticed how he was dressed, right?"

"Pretty shabby. And he needed to have a shower."

"Exactly. Schizophrenia is a long-term illness that has elements of psychosis in it as well as other things."

"Do people with seekosis often try to kill people?"

"No, not usually. Sometimes they hear voices telling them to hurt themselves or others. Most are a danger to only themselves. Poor boy, he's going to have a rough time from now on. The stigma of mental illness is a great burden. I'm sure you can identify with that."

"What?"

"You're not human, are you? You're from outer space. And quite obviously so. How do people treat you because of that?"

Megamind sighed. "Oh, you're absolutely right. I'm just a freak to them. Metro Man had it easy. He looked just like them." He looked at her. "You're taking it pretty well. I mean, just look at you. You're talking to me as if I were a normal person."

"I do my best not to form snap judgments. I've had lots of practice in my career with hiding my emotions and giving people second chances. Anyway, you _are_ a normal person, after one goes beyond appearances."

"What is your job?"

"I'm a clinical psychologist. I specialize in psychopathology – in studying and treating mental illness. I came here a week ago by invitation. They want to reform the prison system. Apparently your transformation has inspired them. Now they're thinking that it can be the same for many of the other prisoners."

"And can it?"

"Many of them do have mental illness. And the others probably need therapy to make them into functional citizens. But what I really believe in is prevention."

"Prevention? You can prevent mental illness?"

"Well, you can stop it before it goes too far. You can keep them out of jail. Take Steve, for instance. He's probably been acting weird for months. His records seem to indicate it. Disruptive behavior… I wonder if I can get anything more specific. It could be persecutory delusions. And before even that, he could have been slipping behind in school. That's one of the first signs of schizophrenia. They slack off at school or work and start isolating themselves. So, if you look at it, it's really not your fault that all of this happened today. His family should have realized that something was up and gotten help. We wouldn't even need to be involved."

"So, what is going to happen with Steve?"

"They'll probably treat him tonight, give him some medications to calm him down and quiet the voices he's hearing. Might take a while to get the exact medication right. And he'll be going to court soon. You'll be asked to testify, most likely. Don't worry, all you'll have to do is describe his behavior. I'll take care of all the fancy words and annoying forms."

"I hope that sheriff won't be there."

"He doesn't have to be, but I don't think that will stop him." She grimaced.

Megamind laughed. "I agree with that face. Oh, what a night! I thought for a moment that I was going to get arrested. It didn't look good."

"No one saw that he had the glass until we rehydrated him. So yeah, it did look kind of nasty at first. But yes, quite a night. I tackled my first egotistical creep and met a real space alien. The latter was quite thrilling, I must add."

"Oh, indeed, I am quite thrilling," Megamind said with a sly smile.

Dr. Hart laughed. "I'm too old for you, from what I can tell by your face."

"And I'm unavailable."

"Give my congrats to the lucky woman. I'm presuming it's a woman."

"Well, that's a strange idea," Megamind said with a theatrical frown. "So, how are you getting home?"

"Walking. I've got good legs."

"I don't think you've ever ridden in an invisible car before."

"No, I haven't, but I think I'll pass. I don't want to incur the wrath of Megamind's infamous significant other."

"Maybe some other time."

"Maybe," Dr. Hart drawled. "I'm quite able to defend myself. I can deck a two hundred pound man without assistance."

Megamind looked at her cane. "You won't need to. I've got brainbots patrolling the streets. They can easily ward off petty criminals."

"Thanks for your concern. The police will call you with further information on the trial. I think. I'm new here, so I don't know how things are run."

"See you there?"

"Yes. And bring your girl! I'd like to meet her." Then she turned around the corner and disappeared.

Megamind watched her leave. She was an amazing woman. Almost as amazing as Roxanne. Almost. He couldn't help but think that the two of them would get along well. He would soon find out.

-CR-

"Good morning, Metro City!" a smiling brunette said to the camera. Her hair was cut short and it glowed in the bright sun. Her face was a classy square with soft edges and she had sparkling blue eyes. She wore a green shirt under a tweed blazer with a matching tweed skirt. "Last night Megamind, the new defender of Metro City, prevented a horrible crime for the first time since taking his position. A young man was reportedly threatening to murder an unidentified woman. However, upon further assessment it was revealed that he was mentally disturbed and required immediate psychiatric treatment. Today, that poor man is now on trial. Dr. Evelyn Hart, a clinical psychologist from Washington, D. C., will be testifying along with Megamind. Dr. Hart is unavailable for comment right now, but earlier she stated that her goal is to keep this man out of jail in order to get him into the community as a happy, healthy citizen. Hopefully this story will have a happy ending for all. This is Roxanne Ritchi reporting live from the Metro City Courthouse."

"That's so cool," Roxanne's new cameraman, Robert, said. He was African-American with smooth, chocolate skin and stubbly black hair hidden beneath a ball cap. He was short and sturdily built. He seemed to be quite young, and he reacted enthusiastically to almost everything. Roxanne couldn't help but smile watching him. After losing Hal she had felt very uncomfortable with getting another cameraman. She didn't want there to be another Titan. She resolved to be very careful with Robert. However, she now saw that this was unnecessary. Robert was a glass half full kind of guy. "I never saw this coming. I mean, one day I was just working at the office, you had Hal, and Megamind was evil. And now bam! I'm with you, probably the best reporter in Metro City, and Megamind is the good guy! And now I'm actually going to meet him!"

"You seem really excited, Robert."

"You bet I am. We are going to interview him aren't we? 'Cause that'll be fantastic 'cause I've been hearing from everyone just how cute you are together and I've never really seen you both before. Plus he's just my kind of hero. I mean, he's got no superpowers like Metro Man, and he's had a tough life. He's kind of like us."

"Wow. I never heard it put that way before. But you're right, Megamind _is_ perhaps a bit more human than Metro Man was. Even if he doesn't look it."

"Yeah. You don't need to fly or have super strength or laser vision or really good looks or the best parents ever to be someone special."

"You're right, Robert. And that gives hope for us normal people."

Right then a taxi pulled up at the bottom of the stairs. The door on the side popped open and a jumbled pair of legs tried to fight their way to the ground along with a cane, flashing silver in the sunlight. "Oops!" an exasperated voice came from the vehicle. "I should have known better than to be in a hurry. This _always_ happens."

Roxanne and Robert were already at the foot of the stairs. Robert lowered the camera to the ground as Roxanne lent a hand to the woman.

"Oh, thank you. I always seem to get clumsy when I'm in a hurry. Haste makes waste, you know." She popped out of the taxi and tossed her curly hair with a sigh. It was nearly black, with some grey sprinkled around her forehead and temples. She had grey eyes and a firm but beautiful face. She was wearing a black skirt, a red shirt, and a black vest.

"Ah, Dr. Hart!" Roxanne cried. "I was wondering when you'd return."

"Had to assess Steve yet again," Dr. Hart said. "They had to put him in seclusion again this morning, and there's strict laws for that. Also, I had to try to get an accurate psychiatric profile on him, but it's very incomplete. Oh well, it'll prove my point. This guy's too sick to even answer a few simple questions. In fact, he can't even show up at his own trial."

"I hope you succeed. That guy deserves a future. Could I get an interview?"

Dr. Hart shook her head. "No, not now. Definitely not now. I've got to be in there in five minutes. Oh, thank you, sweetheart," she said to Robert who had grabbed her papers and bags and other accessories from the back seat. She juggled them as she struggled up the stairs. Both Roxanne and Robert followed her, holding on to an object while she tried to get them in order and sometimes supporting her when she lost her balance. Roxanne wasn't sure what was wrong with her left leg and felt awkward about asking. It seemed to be a lot weaker than the other.

"Thanks, darlings," Dr. Hart said once she reached the top steps. "I think I shall be able to make it the rest of the way."

"Well, what to do now?" Robert asked once she had left.

"We can't leave for long," Roxanne said. "I want to be here if they call recess and when they adjourn. I need to get my interviews."

"Hey, there's a nice bookstore over there. Maybe we can browse."

"Sounds good."

Meanwhile, the court was in session. Megamind was very curious to hear what Dr. Hart had to say. He had never heard a clinical psychologist speak before. When she was called to the stand he listened intently.

"I am Dr. Evelyn Hart, and I have a Ph.D in psychology. I'm also certified in hypnotherapy and psychoanalysis. My primary interest is in researching psychopathology to find ways to better predict and prevent the incidence of mental illness. I also treat those who are afflicted with these sad illnesses."

"What can you tell us about Mr. Wilkinson's condition?"

"Mr. Wilkinson is in very serious condition right now," Dr. Hart said. "Here is my assessment: Stephen Wilkinson is a young man of twenty-one who was brought into the hospital after suffering command hallucinations demanding the murder of a third party who was duly notified. He reports that he is currently living with his mother, but this information is unreliable due to his distorted thinking. He was unable to provide any other information about his home, family, and job. Upon being asked when his hallucinations started, he stated 'last Christmas' but failed to elaborate and later denied having said this. He believes that he was chosen by aliens for an important purpose and that the world will be destroyed if he doesn't obey them. He does not maintain eye contact and follows conversation poorly unless he is in a panic state because of his delusions. He demonstrates many other delusions. He has accused several nurses of being under mind control and has even threatened to harm me, claiming that I was controlling his mind and corrupting his thoughts. He refuses to eat and has recently lost twenty pounds. He also suffers from auditory hallucinations as evidenced by sustained conversation while no one is present and erratic behavior such as laughing with no clear purpose. He also exhibits blunted affect. We were unable to contact his family at this time."

"Is Mr. Wilkinson a threat to society?"

"We'll probably never know if he ever was a threat. He might not have carried through with his actions. However, thanks to the actions of Megamind he was prevented and he is now being treated adequately. Once he is stable, he will no longer be a threat. It wasn't him who threatened to kill the girl. It was his voices, his neurochemical abnormalities that coerced him into doing so. With proper treatment he will be stabilized and may return to the community as long as he has an adequate support system."

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Yes." Dr. Hart turned to the jury, and her face was serious, maybe even burdened. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking 'Oh great, another one of those psychos. If he gets out, he'll just turn rampant and go all violent. We should lock him up forever.' I'm here to tell you that you are mistaken. It wasn't Steve who threatened that girl. It was his illness, which can be treated. And most people with his illness are not violent at all. He doesn't need to be locked up. He needs a loving home with supportive people who will stick by him even if nothing seems to work. This is a terrifying, disabling illness. We need to understand him. There is hope for these people. Thank you. That is all I have to say."

Megamind smiled. Dr. Hart was not accusing, bullying, or even debating with the jury. She was appealing to their feelings and compassion and offering them a candid view on the young man's condition. He looked at the jury's faces. A couple of them, women, were dabbing at their eyes. Quite a few more also seemed moved. The ones left over had confused expressions, as if they were partially convinced but still partly believed in their old ideas. Well, this looked promising.

And now it was his turn. He walked up to the box, feeling a little uncomfortable. He wasn't wearing his cape. Instead, he was dressed quite casually. He had been unsure of exactly what to wear, and he thought that looking a little more vulnerable would help with Dr. Hart's goals. Also, he had never testified in trial before. He had gone to trial before, but only as the defendant. It felt weird to be the one on the good guys' side. Would they listen to him? Or would they just laugh at his mispronounced words?

"I'm not an expert on seekosis," he said, cautiously avoiding looking at Dr. Hart in case he got the word wrong. However, her face remained as stoic as the previous night. "But I am an expert in villainy, and I can tell you that that man is not a villain. I strongly agree with Dr. Hart. That man needs help, not punishment. I did far worse things than he ever did. In fact, he never even did anything illegal! And yet you forgave me and let me become your hero. All I can ask is for you to do the same thing for him. Well, you don't have to make him a hero. In fact, please don't." He laughed. "Just give him another chance, just like you gave me. And help him when he needs it. Thank you."

Dr. Hart nodded to him as he stepped down from the box. He looked over at the jury. They all seemed decided, even the ones who were unsure before. And, due to the looks he and Dr. Hart were receiving, they were decided in their favor. His judgment was correct. The jury was hardly out for five minutes before they came back with the verdict of "not guilty". Dr. Hart was smiling as if she had had a delicious turkey dinner, not as if she had possibly salvaged one young man's future. He himself was grinning broadly as they exited the courthouse.

"You did wonderfully," Dr. Hart said. "You spoke from personal experience. I'm sure that made a world of difference to them."

"Well, you're the expert, you get all the credit," Megamind said.

"I don't believe it," a teasing voice said from behind them. "You're actually giving her _all_ the credit? What happened to you?" Roxanne came up to him, grabbed his shoulders, and stared into his eyes. "Who are you? What have you done to Megamind?"

Megamind pushed her away and laughed. "Oh, terrible things!" he said dramatically. "I'm afraid they're too horrific for me to tell you."

"Try me," Roxanne said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Not here," Megamind said in a stage whisper. "Someone might just overhear."

"Do I get my interview now?"

"For the proper price."

"And what would that be?"

"Lunch. Today. Together."

Roxanne bit her lip. "Oh, I don't know… There's this extremely handsome guy that I know who might want the same thing…" she broke off when she saw his tortured expression. "I meant you."

"Oh."

"Really, you actually thought I meant someone else? Goodness, you've changed a lot, Megamind."

"I should have, now that I'm a hero."

"Alright," Roxanne said. "Robert, are you ready?"

"I've been ready since this morning!" Robert said, grinning. "Are _you_ ready?"

Roxanne smiled at her boyfriend. "I certainly am. Dr. Hart, you're the one who's seen Steve the most. You should go first."

"Alright," Dr. Hart said. "Let me put my stuff down here." She dumped the pile of papers and bags and whatnot onto the ground. Then she positioned herself in front of the camera on the right, carefully concealing her cane behind her afflicted leg. It was a clever move, but one that did not come with self-consciousness. In fact, from the look on Roxanne's face, she didn't even notice.

"Hello again, Metro City," Roxanne said. "Here we are in front of the Courthouse where the case determining one young man's future has recently been adjourned in his favor. Here with me I have Dr. Evelyn Hart, the psychiatrist responsible for giving this young man hope. So, Dr. Hart, what do you have to say about your victory?"

"First off, I'm a clinical psychologist, not a psychiatrist," Dr. Hart said with a smile.

"Could you explain the difference?" Roxanne asked, no sign of embarrassment showing on her gorgeous face.

"Of course. A psychiatrist is a physician who's trained somewhat in treating mental illnesses. A clinical psychologist has had much more education, usually on a Ph.D. level, and is usually involved in research."

"So, what brought you to Metro City?"

"I was selected by the mayor to start a new program to treat the mentally ill currently residing in the prisons and also help the other prisoners get a better life. The recent reform of the supervillain Megamind is most likely the cause of this. I also hope to improve the mental hospitals of Metro City and possibly work on mental health screening and illness prevention."

"Wow, you sound ambitious."

"Yes, I am ambitious. A couple other cities have adopted my methods and have reported fantastic results. I see no reason why Metro City should be any different."

"Now, I suspect that many people in Metro City believe that this man should not be set free. They think he should be imprisoned or kept in a hospital. Do you have anything to say to this?"

"Oh, I certainly do. There is a lot of stigma and misunderstanding associated with mental illness. No other disease has as much emotional impact. Things must begin to change. Over the past fifty years tremendous advances have been made in psychiatric care. Before the 1950s the only treatments for schizophrenia were the barbaric lobotomy and dangerous insulin shock therapy. Now we have many medications with minimal side effects and maximal benefits. Many people are waking up to the real world and beginning to work and have families like normal people. Someday schizophrenia will be viewed as a medical condition not unlike epilepsy, diabetes, or hypertension. If we work together, we can make that day come sooner."

"So there is hope for this poor man."

"Oh, there certainly is. I've seen much worse cases recover."

"Many people believe the mentally ill to be violent. As we have heard, he did threaten to take a person's life. Is this typical for schizophrenia?"

"No, not at all. Some patients do have command hallucinations demanding them to harm someone, but this is mainly directed to themselves, not others. This man's situation was unique. However, most violence I see in the mentally ill stems from self-preservation. They think their lives are in danger, and they're ready to defend themselves. These patients aren't just violent, they're terrified. Anyone else in the same situation would probably behave similarly."

"I can understand that, and I'm sure that most of Metro City can, too. Do you have anything more to say?"

"No, other than I'm really glad to be helping the people of Metro City. It's a lovely place."

"Thanks very much, Dr. Hart. That was Dr. Hart, the new psychiatric specialist of Metro City." Dr. Hart began to climb up the stairs behind Roxanne. However, once she was out of the range of the camera, she crept back down behind Robert. She nodded at Roxanne and Megamind, who was now in the limelight. "Now we shall talk to Megamind, the first to respond to the scene. Megamind, how does it feel to have saved a life – or lives – for the first time? Well, from something that didn't have any ties to you."

Megamind let the comment pass. They both knew that it was only clarification for those watching, not a jab at his previous technological misfires. "It was quite an experience. I've learned a lot. Apparently to be a hero one must know more than just how to be a hero. This was the first time I encountered seekosis."

"Very few people know how to handle such a situation. You did well. Would you mind telling us exactly what happened?"

"Well, a brainbot picked up his erratic behavior and alerted us at the evil lair," Megamind explained. "We listened into his conversation and heard that he was planning on killing a girl. It sounded like he was taking orders from someone. So, I hopped into the invisible car and went and confronted him. I didn't notice anything strange about him until a few minutes afterward."

"And just what did you notice?"

"Well, he was speaking to someone who wasn't there, and he said that he was receiving instructions from some aliens who needed him to save the world from something terrible happening. Apparently that involved hurting that girl. Then he started accusing me of mind control, and he threatened me as well. Luckily I had come prepared with my dehydration gun."

"Wow. Thanks to you, he never committed a crime, and he'll live a lot easier now."

"Yes, he will."

"Thanks for your time. This is Roxanne Ritchi, grateful to the citizens of Metro City for giving this man a second chance. Thank you."

"Wow," Robert said, lowering the camera. "Just, wow. You both are incredible." He looked over his shoulder and saw Dr. Hart watching. "All three of you are incredible," he corrected.

"Right, so, are we going to lunch or are we not?" Dr. Hart asked. "I haven't had any breakfast. I've been hopping back and forth to the hospital like a rabbit who can't make up his mind. Is it all right if I join you?"

Roxanne looked at Megamind questioningly. "Oh, yes, introductions," he said. "Roxanne, this is Dr. Evelyn Hart. I met her last night. She saved me from a nasty situation with a certain sheriff. Dr. Hart, this is Roxanne Ritchi, possibly the most wonderful woman I've ever met."

"Possibly?" Roxanne challenged.

"I don't know. My mom was pretty wonderful. After all, her son is superbly intelligent and incredibly handsome."

Roxanne playfully punched him on the shoulder, which received an exaggerated reaction. "Sure, I'm okay with it, as long as Robert comes along, too. After what happened with Hal, I don't want to miss the boat again." The last sentence was whispered, meant for Megamind only.

"Great!" Dr. Hart said with a bright smile. "I look forward to talking with you."

Both Roxanne and Megamind felt a little disappointed with having two extra lunch buddies, but they also felt a little relieved. Roxanne was still uncomfortable with dating Megamind, even though she soon realized that he was the same as the Bernard she had dated. Old thoughts and feelings came up like weeds, and she was constantly trying to uproot them as she struggled to keep the fragile flowers of their new relationship blossoming. However, she was not going to give up. She knew that soon those flowers would become a magnificent hearty shrub that easily crowded out those pesky weeds. Megamind still couldn't believe that Roxanne would choose him. He constantly found himself doubting and yet yearning for their relationship. He wished that it could go further, but he was afraid that things would fall apart as they always seemed to.

Robert eagerly struck up a conversation with Megamind as they walked down the street to a nearby deli. Soon they were sitting down with their drinks and sandwhiches.

"Let's have a toast!" Megamind suggested.

"What for?" Roxanne asked.

"The human brain," Dr. Hart. "It never ceases to amaze. When it works, all is well. When it doesn't… well, good luck."

"The human brain is nothing compared to mine," Megamind said cockily. "This big head is not just for show."

Dr. Hart pointed to her own cranium. "Quality, not quantity."

Roxanne and Robert laughed while Megamind did his best to put on his "I'm-not-impressed" face.

"Um, to Megamind?" Robert suggested.

"Oh, please!" Roxanne said while rolling her eyes. "He gets that all the time!"

"Well, let's think," Dr. Hart said. "What did we do today? What sort of evil did we defeat?"

"Well, Steve is going to stay out of prison," Robert said. "Now he has a chance at a normal life."

"Yes, but that's just the tip of the iceberg," Megamind said. "Dr. Hart's got a quest. Reform the entire prison system, right?"

"Exactly," the clinical psychologist said. "I'm going to try to get them out and keep them out. And keep them from coming in in the first place."

"So, to Metro City's judicial system?" Roxanne said.

"How about just plain Metrocity?" Megamind said.

"Okay," Roxanne said, aware of Dr. Hart's and Robert's stares. They weren't yet aware of Megamind's mispronunciations.

"I agree," Dr. Hart said. "That covers everything."

"Alright then," Megamind said, raising his glass. "To Metrocity!"

Dr. Hart looked at Robert and Roxanne and winked. They both realized what she wanted them to do. So they raised their glasses and said, "To Metrocity!" the same way that Megamind did. Then they watched him as he sipped his drink. It took him ten seconds to realize what they had just said. "Wait, what?" he asked, and then they laughed.

They chatted and ate quite happily together. Dr. Hart was quite entertaining, especially with her excellent deadpan. Robert was also quite the conversationalist. Pretty soon there was no stiffness between them. They relaxed and enjoyed each other's company like they were old friends.

"Alright, I've got to go now," Dr. Hart said, wrapping up her sandwhich. "I'm a busy lady, you know. Anybody in Metro City who's crazy needs my help. Let's just hope that _I_ don't go crazy. Oh, me treating myself, well, that's going to be complicated." She grabbed her cane and stood.

"It was nice meeting you, Dr. Hart," Roxanne said.

"You're welcome at the evil lair at any time!" Megamind said. "Perhaps you could think of another name for it."

"No, sorry, every word I'm thinking of right now goes along with 'insane' and 'asylum'," Dr. Hart said. "I don't think that'll reflect well on your personality. Adieu!"

Robert remained only a moment longer. "Hey, Roxanne, I've got some stuff to do at the office. Could I take the news van?"

"Yes, I suppose," Roxanne said, leaning close to Megamind and gazing at his face. "As long as a certain someone has an invisible car parked nearby. And if he can find it."

"Oh, I won't have that kind of trouble again," Megamind said with a smirk.

"Why not? Did you give it a visible paint job?"

"No! It wouldn't really be the invisible car anymore, would it?" He took a keychain out of his pocket and pressed the button, a cocky expression on his face. Somewhere on the street, two headlights flashed. "How's that?"

"That's really clever. Why didn't you think of that before?"

"Yeah, blinking headlights, very evil."

"So, I'll be going now," Robert said, grinning as he stood up. "Bye!"

When he left, an awkward silence came between Megamind and Roxanne. Roxanne looked in his direction. He was looking away, obviously at a loss. For a moment she was at a loss, too. Then she sighed. "Please don't tell me you've forgotten how to be Bernard!"

"What? How could I ever forget that?"

Roxanne smiled coyly. "I don't know. You tell me. It certainly looks like you did."

"I did not!" Megamind protested, but his eyes glimmered, testifying that he was enjoying this banter.

"Prove it, buster."

"My name's not buster," he muttered. And then they were kissing again.

Roxanne melted into him. _Okay_, she thought._ He hasn't forgotten how to be Bernard._ Then she forgot the times of before, the times where he was the villain and she was the bait. All she could think about was the delicious kiss.

*A/N So, a little bit of information on what's truly happening with Steve. Personally, I find schizophrenia a really sad disease. Most people with it live in a terrifying world and they can't even take care of themselves. Though they can sometimes be dangerous, that is not the norm. Of course, the only crazy people everyone knows about are the ones who get on the news after doing something really gruesome. I wouldn't mind doing what Dr. Hart is doing, though I'll probably take another route to get there. And I thought it would be interesting for Megamind to meet someone in mental health, not because he's crazy but because acceptance is a must in that area. I'm only in my third semester in nursing, and it has been made perfectly clear in my psychiatric nursing textbook that psych nurses need to be accepting and nonjudgmental. If anyone's going to act perfectly comfortable around a blue-skinned alien in the first few minutes of meeting, it will be an experienced mental health worker. Now, meeting an ER nurse would be a totally different story. Hmmm, what does blue skin mean in the hospital? That'll be in a later chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

It was about two days after the trial when Roxanne got a phone call from Dr. Hart. "Hello?" she said, not recognizing the caller ID.

"Hello, Roxanne," Dr. Hart said. "This is Evelyn Hart."

"Oh, Dr. Hart! How did you get my phone number?"

"From the phone book."

Roxanne almost did a facepalm for asking such an obvious question. "How's Steve doing?"

"Very good. He's opening up more and more every day. It looks quite promising. Listen, I'd like to meet up with you today, see if you have any concerns about Megamind."

Roxanne frowned. "What? Is something wrong with him?"

"No, but I sincerely doubt that this transition is going smoothly. I'm in the university library. I'll be waiting for you at the circulation desk."

So Roxanne threw on her coat and drove the news van over to the university. It was a large Victorian building that boasted an excellent range of volumes in its library. She walked in, passing groups of warmly dressed students with anxious faces. Finals were coming up. Dr. Hart was, as she had promised, in the library. She wore a bright yellow shirt that contrasted sharply with her dark hair. Roxanne was struck by how her face was so stoic yet her clothing lively and colorful. She wasn't just a drab old woman.

"So, what are you worried about?" Roxanne asked.

"I'm not exactly worried," Dr. Hart said. "I'm more… aware. He's a stubborn little guy, isn't he?"

Roxanne smiled, remembering his persistence in his evil plans of before. "Oh, he certainly is."

"Then I think he'll be alright. Still, it's hard to forget the past, especially if it's part of your own identity."

"What do you mean?"

"All his life he thought of himself as evil, right? He said it was his destiny."

Roxanne had to dig through her memories. Sure enough, he had mentioned his "destiny" during several of her kidnappings. "Yes. That's right."

"And just about a week ago he found that he had a choice in the matter and could actually succeed in being good."

"Yeah."

"But the problem is, his identity, his self-esteem, his self-image, all have previously been tied into him being evil. He doesn't know what being good really means. He might think that he has to scrap all of his old self and build up something that was never him in the first place."

"Actually, Minion told me about an incident that happened just last week after Titan and all that. Apparently he accidentally activated a gigantic killer robot after selling all his other inventions. And then he tried to take it on like Metro Man used to." She grinned. "That didn't work. He had to get back to being himself again to zap that nasty old robot."

"Good. He already discovered part of the solution. Still, he's not out of the woods yet. He doesn't know what's expected of a hero. And I bet he's still trying to find out what parts of his old self must go. He may forget sometimes that it doesn't all have to go. He still has to find himself in the role. Sometimes he might just not feel up to it. You know how it is, first time on the job, you make all sorts of mistakes, and you think you're an utter failure, but it turns out fabulously in the end."

Roxanne remembered her beginning days clearly. "Yeah. It goes for pretty much everyone, I guess."

"Except for the lucky few who are just naturals. And sometimes he may miss the old days. Sometimes being a villain may look better than being a hero."

"Are you saying he'll _want_ to go back?" Roxanne demanded defensively.

"Yes. Well, not all of him. Part of him will want to, and the other part of him won't. That'll cause all sorts of anguish and guilt."

Roxanne mulled over this for a while. She had considered all of this. In fact, even she was not immune to doubting Megamind's intentions and whether he was truly through with being a supervillain. "What do you suggest I do?"

"Just be his friend. Don't push him, but don't let him push you away. Encourage him. Try to talk to him every day at least. Let him make all the romantic advances, at least for now. And if he asks your opinion on anything, remember that he must figure this out for himself, otherwise it wouldn't truly be him. Let him talk with you about his ideas. Of course, if it's something clearly wrong, feel free to protest."

"So, all I have to do is stick with him and listen to him."

"Correct. Those are the basics of psychotherapy. Let them know you're there for them, and let them figure things out for themselves, with a little bit of positive reinforcement."

"You make it sound so easy."

"And it is, with the right attitude. But if you're selfish, my, what a chore it can be."

Roxanne smiled. "Thanks, Dr. Hart."

"No, please call me Evelyn. I consider you my friend."

"And I do, too." She hugged her. "I'm glad you're here, Evelyn. Metro City needs you."

-CR-

"You know what's good for you, Titan. You'll stay out of Metrocity!"

"You've got it!" Hal, no longer the confident, powerful, super-powered Titan, said.

"For good!" He released his grasp slightly and Hal was off like a flash, leaving a trail of smoke behind. He heard the people cheering below. Roxanne smiled as he slowly floated down towards her. He smiled back. Then, she held her hand out. He hesitated. Was he really ready? Would he really be able to reveal his identity to the crowd? They thought their hero Metro Man had returned from the dead. They would not expect him to be the supervillain Megamind. However, Roxanne still smiled. He could see her thoughts in her eyes. She loved Megamind, and it was time for everyone else to love him to. He gave her his hand. She held it and reached for the disguise generator. With a twist, his identity was revealed. The crowd gasped. A little baby began to fuss. However, Roxanne remained smiling, and he smiled to. The baby quieted. This was their hero. This was Megamind.

"Pretty sneaky, sis! But there's only one person I know who calls this town 'Metrocity'!"

Uh oh. Hal was back. Megamind berated himself over his slipup. "Oops," he said.

"You!"

He lunged at Hal with his ultra-reinforced steel gloves. They shattered on Hal's round face. The young man glared at him. He laughed nervously.

"Bet you think it's really funny, huh? Let's all laugh at the really cool guy, huh?" He threw him and he landed against a car. "You're not going to be laughing for long."

And now he was being blasted by the jerk's laser vision. He used the rocket boots to escape, narrowly missing being fried. He dodged the deadly lasers.

"Hey!" Roxanne suddenly said. "Remember the night I dumped you?"

He stared at her, leaping as the lasers headed towards his feet. "You're bringing this up now?" He was fighting for his life here! How could that possibly help him?

"I did look back!"

A police car, siren wailing, was flung in his direction. "You did?" he gasped. A bicycle narrowly missed him. "You did?" he said a little louder.

"Yes, and you should look back! Right now!"

And he did. He saw a familiar shimmering outline. "Oh, I get it!" The invisible car. He began to fly towards it, but Hal's laser vision caught one of his rocket boots. He skidded across the pavement. He tried to get up, but it was too late. Hal caught him and picked him up like he was a doll.

"This is the last time you make a fool out of me!" Hal cried, his hand tightening around Megamind's collar. The selfish young man raised his fist, ready to deliver the final blow.

Megamind braced himself for the impact. "I made you a hero. You did the fool thing all by yourself!" And then the blow came. He flew through the air and collided with a wall. Amazingly, he remained conscious. He began to crawl towards the invisible car.

"You're so pathetic! No matter what side you're on, you're always the loser!"

"There's a benefit to losing," Megamind said, on his feet again but still clinging to the wall. "You get to learn from your mistakes." He dove for the invisible car. Hal gaped in confusion as he disappeared. Megamind grabbed the defuser gun and primed it. However, like always, it wasn't quite ready. ""Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Minion, if I live, I will kill you."

Then Hal's fist came through the door. It was wrenched off of its hinges. Hal looked in, but there was no Megamind. Then the door became visible… and so did Megamind. He laughed sheepishly and pushed the lock down.

"Enjoy your flight!" Hal cried. And now he was flying again. Except this time without rocket boots, which meant that he would soon begin the falling part. What a day. A trip to jail, being dumped by the girl of his dreams, losing pretty badly in yet another battle… and now he was falling to his death. How did it come to this? Ever since he was a child he had known he had a destiny. Just what was it? Until now he had thought it was to be a supervillain. But now… he had finally done something good, and it hadn't worked out at all, just like all his evil schemes. Perhaps he was just inept at both.

He looked down and saw some sparkling blue. Water. There was a fountain right beneath him. That gave him an idea. Let's see, did he have his – yes, he did! He aimed the dehydration gun at himself and pulled the trigger. In just a few seconds later, he erupted from the water in the fountain, gripping the now ready defuser gun. Hal stared at him, shocked. "Ollo," he said, and then he forced the nozzle into one of Hal's nostrils and pulled back on the plunger. Hal began to glow as golden dust seeped out from him. Then, he tumbled backwards and his superhero physique was replaced by the roly-poly figure of Hal Stewart.

"The thing about bad guys?" he said, partly delirious from his success. "They always _lose_!" He shook his finger at him, and Hal groaned. Megamind spun on his heels, grinning, ready for the triumphant celebration. Now where was Roxanne? She was nowhere in sight. That's funny, he was sure he saw her heading towards the fountain when he was falling to his death. Oh no. He looked down.

He was too late. She was lying in the fountain, her face quickly turning blue. Two black holes were burned through her chest. The water was red with her blood.

"Roxanne!" he cried, caressing her cheek. "Roxanne?"

"You… let me die," she accused in labored breaths.

"No! No, I – never! I'd never let you die!"

"Metro Man… would have… saved me." Then her head tilted to the side and her eyes closed. Not a sound escaped her afterwards.

"Roxanne!"

"Sir?" The voice seemed distant.

"Roxanne…" he said in a weak voice. His eyes fluttered open. He was in his evil lair. "Where's Roxanne?"

"I'm pretty sure she's at her apartment," Minion said.

"That's a relief," Megamind said, hauling himself up to a sitting position and rubbing his eyes. "I thought… Titan…"

"Hal's in jail. You've defeated him over a fortnight ago."

"It was so real. I could have sworn it actually happened."

"It wasn't, sir. It was just a dream."

"I know that perfectly well, Minion," he snapped getting up off the couch.

"You have a bed, you know, sir. Why were you sleeping on the couch?"

"I wasn't sleeping, I was…" Actually, he couldn't remember what he had been doing. That dream had shaken him up quite a bit. He looked at the floor beside the couch. There were some papers scattered around. "Ah, yes. I was drawing some… diagrams. For… laser beams?" He squinted at the picture. Oh no, he hadn't been diagramming lasers. He had been drawing lasers… directed at either a stick figure version of himself or Roxanne. He must have been more tired than he thought. He tossed them away.

"Have you been sleeping well, sir? It doesn't seem so to me."

"I've been sleeping, yes."

"But have you been sleeping _well_, sir."

"What about you? After that whole Titan thing, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a few nightmares."

"Nope. Not anymore. The first few days were a little rough, though. Are you having nightmares?"

"Oh, Minion," Megamind said in a distressed voice. "You had it easy. I was the one that created Titan. I was the one who started the whole thing. I was the one who almost lost… almost lost Roxanne."

"Miss Ritchi? Is… Is that what you were dreaming about? Losing her?"

"If you absolutely must know, yes!" Megamind said, flinging his fists backward, making his cape billow.

"Why don't we call her? It'll make you feel better."

"No. She'll just… she'll just be busy. She always is." He turned away and trudged towards a doorway. "I'm going to bed."

That was the last straw for Minion. He waited until Megamind had gone out of sight before heading out of the evil lair which really should have another name. He walked all the way to Roxanne's house. Megamind was playing around with the invisible car again, so it wasn't a good idea to drive it right now. Once the risk of it exploding spontaneously was dramatically reduced he'd be willing to get into it. Until then, robotic gorilla feet would have to do.

Roxanne was having just an ordinary day off at her apartment. She was going to check up on Megamind, she really was, but right now she was doing some research. The story of Steve was still continuing. She was looking up "schizophrenia" and "psychosis" on the Internet to understand his condition more fully. It turned out that he was really short on resources. His mother didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. She needed to "keep the crazy kid away from the rest of her babies". Still, Dr. Har – _Evelyn_ – was optimistic. She had seen cases far worse than his pull through. However, they were not the norm.

Anyway, she found some of the stuff really fascinating. It struck a chord in her heart. There was something about mental illness that intrigued, horrified, and saddened her. Schizophrenia was not "split personality", as most people understood it to be. These people's mind had run away with them, taking them into another, more terrifying world. She couldn't imagine someone she knew being struck down with schizophrenia. The thought of Megamind at the mercy of malicious voices was too much for her. Even creepy Titan would not deserve such a punishment for what he had done to her and her city. Poor Steve.

Now, what had she been going to do? Oh yes, visit Megamind! She felt some momentary guilt. Well, better late than never. He may be interested in what she found out. Perhaps he could find some solution to Steve's quandary. However, it seemed that fate wanted to cruelly twist the knife of guilt in her bosom. Minion was at the door.

"Hi, Roxanne!" the little fish said. "How are you doing today?"

"Oh, just fine. How are you and Megamind?"

"Well, I think that Megamind would really like to see your face again. You know, you haven't seen each other since you met for lunch after the trial, and that was the first time since Titan."

Roxanne's face fell. "I know, Minion. I don't really have an excuse. You know when you're afraid to do something but you know you must, but because you're afraid things just seem to come up and you keep putting it off?"

Minion looked hurt. "You – You're afraid of Megamind? I thought you loved him!"

"I do, it's just… things have been pretty wild lately. Now that I'm not about to get killed by Titan, life almost feels normal. And so far normal for me is back when Metro Man was hero and Megamind kept on kidnapping me. I'm sorry, I know that sounds awful, but that's just how it is. It's this weird brain thing I've got, and I hate it, because I know what he can be like. Normal isn't normal anymore."

"Then what is normal?"

"Well, this is normal, it's just… not the old normal. It's the new normal. I've just got to find out what the new normal really is."

"Finding the new normal."

"Yeah. Up is down and left is right."

Minion grinned. "Or perhaps we had it all backwards in the beginning, so now we're doing it right."

"Still feels backwards, though."

"Well, let's get going."

"How did you get here? Invisible car?"

"No. He's tinkering with it. And you know what that means. I came on foot."

"Well then, let's take the news van."

Meanwhile, Megamind was still having trouble sleeping. Taking a nap did not seem to work. Right now he was pacing around the evil lair which really, really should have another name but he was just too tired to think of one right now. He hoped that by walking in circles he would wear himself out enough to fall into bed and go out like Minion had just hit him with the Forget-Me Stick.

And that was how Minion and Roxanne found him, pacing in his haz-mat pajamas and bat slippers. Minion stared at him, but he just shrugged. Now that Roxanne was no longer his favorite hostage, he did not feel as awkward letting her see him in his pajamas. Besides, it would also make him look a lot less evil-villainy.

"So, you're having problems sleeping?" Roxanne asked.

"Yes," Megamind grumbled. "I'm surprised Minion didn't spill the bees."

"It's beans, sir."

"So? It still doesn't make any sense."

Roxanne tried not to smirk, but she couldn't help it. He was walking away so he didn't see her anyway. He was trying to pick up more colloquialisms in order to fit into society, but he still couldn't get any of them right. Not that Roxanne minded. She thought it was cute and unique. "You want to talk about it?"

"How's that supposed to help?"

Uh oh, he was getting a little cranky now. "How am I supposed to know what to do if I don't know what you're dreaming every night?"

"You can't make them go away."

Roxanne sighed. "Okay, okay, let's just forget about this for a bit. I did not come here to argue. I'm your friend, Megamind. Well, I actually hope I'm more than that."

Megamind looked at her, and a smile slowly spread across his face. "Oh, you most certainly are," he said in a low voice.

She smiled back. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," he said, stifling a yawn. "Oh, I'm going to be such fun today."

"Would you like to watch a movie? That always puts me to sleep if I can't sleep."

After a pause, Megamind nodded. "None of those nasty one with the chainsaws, okay? I don't want to get even _ more_ nightmares."

Roxanne put her arm around him and pressed between his shoulderblades in the direction of the flat screen TV she had begged him to get. She didn't have enough space in her apartment for her own. However, he had done more than just buy it. He had made one himself, and it had a killer sound system. She let him take a seat on the couch and she went over to the selection of DVDs she had contributed to the not-so-evil lair. She had brought them in hopes of enjoying them with her new boyfriend, but until now they hadn't had a chance to watch them. She selected one, a quiet, sweet film with romance, humor, and a fun plot. As she settled down with the previews flashing in front of her, she regretted procrastinating. She would not let it happen again.

He leaned against her, and sometime into the movie his breathing began to slow. She looked over at him and noticed that his eyes were closed. She grinned. Success! Roxanne Ritchi 1, Nightmares of Doom 0. She watched the movie, perfectly happy. When it ended, she didn't move off the couch. Megamind was still leaning on her, and if she left he'd probably awaken. Besides, being a Roxanne Ritchi sandwich was actually quite comfortable.

His eyes moved rapidly beneath his eyelids. What was he dreaming about? The old days when he used to fight Metro Man? The many possibilities the future held? Some zany invention that would probably do something it wasn't supposed to and get them into some hilarious situation? Or was it about her? Hmm, the last one was downright appealing. Her mind began to fill with sensuous scenarios. She stopped her train of thought and bit back a laugh when she realized where this was going. _Slow down, Roxanne!_ she told herself. _Take it one step at a time. Don't get too far ahead of yourself._

He began to moan. She looked over at him. Beads of sweat stood out on his large forehead. Oh no. He moaned again, and this time she heard words. "Not the…"

She grabbed his hand. She wished more than anything in the world that she could just enter his mind right that instant and chase those nightmares clean away. "Megamind, it's me, Roxanne. You're okay."

"No, Roxanne… Look out for the… I didn't do it!" He sat up as straight as the skyscraper Titan had torn down on that fateful day. His eyes roamed the room, momentarily disoriented. He gradually became aware of her hand clasping his. "Roxanne…"

"Yes, I'm here. Tell me about it. What did you see?"

"I saw… I saw… We were back at that restaurant, you know, where you discovered that I was Bernard. Everything went just like it had before. We kissed, that stupid watch malfunctioned, you found me out, and then you left. I came after you in the invisible car, and that's when it went all wrong. You – You were standing on the street. And then, when you walked away, I watched you. You turned back, and then… Titan came. He yelled something about no one having you because he couldn't have you and then he zapped you with his laser vision and you died. Again."

"Again?"

"Yes, again."

Roxanne grinned. "How many lives do I have in those dreams of yours?" she said, trying to make light of the situation. "If I keep on dying, I must have a lot."

He looked at her reproachfully, which silenced her. "I don't think I can do this. I can't be a hero. Heroes are brave, they don't have nightmares."

"Hey, you've been through a stressful experience. You almost died, I almost died, Minion almost died. And you took all the blame for it afterwards. That's an awful lot for a first-timer."

"I don't think Metro Man ever had such dreams. He was perfect. He never got scared."

"Oh, I think he did at first. You remember the first kidnapping? Well, the first three, really. He seemed really shaken afterwards. I don't know for sure, but he must have had nightmares. Then we found out that you weren't really someone to be afraid of. Titan was different. He was brutal. It wasn't a game for him."

"Still, I'm a coward. I'm not brave enough. That's why I have these nightmares."

She took his chin and directed his gaze straight into her eyes. "No, you're not. That's not true. If you were a coward, then Titan would still be out there. I would probably be dead, and Minion… well, he wouldn't have come back for you. You would have been all alone." She leaned in closer until their noses were nearly touching. "I know why you have those nightmares. It's your heart. You care about me. You're too preoccupied with what you have up _here_ –" she tapped him on the skull "—that you forget what's down _here_ –" she tapped him on the chest. She smiled. "I guess you just need to be reminded sometimes."

He grinned at her. "You're an incredible woman, do you know that?"

"I must be, to be with an incredible man."

He laughed. "Now you're talking!"

She kissed him on the cheek. "Go to bed, mister! Heroes need to rest, too."

He stuck out his bottom lip. "You're not my mother!"

"Well, someone's got to do the job."

"I've got Minion."

"He's the wrong gender. _Mothers_ are _females_."

"I know that. He's a mother _and_ a father."

"A hermaphrodite?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Fine!" he said, standing up. "I'll go to bed if you… come back tomorrow!" He gave his signature evil laugh.

"Oh, no! I'm afraid I have to, then. Can't have you short on sleep." She stood up and hugged him. "Goodbye for now, Megamind. And yes, I will come tomorrow. Gladly!" She walked out of the room.

Megamind remained in the room for a little longer, smiling. "That's something to look forward to. Now, time to sleep."


	4. Chapter 4

*A/N Chapter Four's up, yay! Sorry it's been a while. I've had a crazy amount of reading to do lately and I got pretty stressed. Don't expect me to update a lot until summer's here. I'll also be working on a few other stories, too. I've got a lot of ideas for this story. It's going to be a long one. So enjoy!

In this chapter: Why it's not good to have blue skin in the hospital.

Chapter Four:

The people applauded as Megamind exited the building. He grinned cockily and took a bow, gesturing broadly with his right hand. He kept his left hand hidden in his cloak. There was no way he was going to let anyone in the crowd see what had really happened to him. Such a thing would have never happened to Metro Man. The man who had unflinchingly stood as Roxanne threw a set of speakers at him would not be penetrated by a tiny bullet.

Roxanne was running up the steps first. "How did it go?" she asked.

"Well, I got all of them," Megamind said breezily. "And I survived."

"Yeah. It sounded pretty intense in there."

"Oh, it was. They were serious about the whole thing. Two of the guards were seriously hurt."

Roxanne looked into the crowd. A whole line of police officers were keeping the people a good distance away from the Metro City Bank. However, they still had a good view of the front of the building. At the front of the group were emergency vehicles, paramedics, and fire fighters. Roxanne waved a couple of them over.

"I dehydrated them," Megamind explained. "Both of them were shot in the chest. Neither of them looked good. I didn't think they were going to make it." He looked at the arriving paramedics. "I think you should wait until reaching the hospital to rehydrate them."

"Agreed," a woman paramedic said. "We cannot treat cardiac tamponade or tension pneumothorax effectively, and those can be rapidly fatal. How does your… gadget affect those who are hemodynamically unstable?"

"Well, I never tested that specifically, but theoretically it shouldn't do any damage."

The paramedics nodded.

Megamind reached into his pockets. He had kept the guards separate from the bank robbers. It would not have been good for one of the crooks to wake up in a hospital bed and escape or for one of the guards to awake in a prison cell and rapidly perish. "Here they are," he said.

The paramedics left with the cubes. Roxanne was about to speak to them again, but then she noticed that Megamind was walking away. "Hey!" she called. "What about you? How are you?"

"I'm fine," he sighed.

"Yeah, so you've always checked your left pocket with your right hand. Megamind, you're hurt."

"Heroes don't get hurt, Roxanne."

"Yeah they do. It's the invincible ones that don't get hurt."

"I'll be fine, Roxanne," Megamind said. "I'll look at it after I talk with the police and the reporters and everything."

Roxanne sighed. "For your sake I do hope it's not serious."

Megamind saw the police approaching. _Let's just get this over with_, he said to himself. He was feeling quite tired after spending around two hours playing cops and robbers with half a dozen crazed armed men. He groaned when he saw the sheriff with them.

"I suppose you've enjoyed yourself today," the sheriff said. He was a man in his thirties, maybe forties. He had mouse-brown hair and a moustache. There was nothing that distinguished him from his officers, except the fact that his chest extended a full four inches further than all the others. Megamind remembered teasing him about it before, wondering how much he would deflate if he stuck a pin in him. The man was full of nothing but hot air. "So, who were these chaps? Old friends of yours? Did you have a nice reunion in there?"

"Oh, yes," Megamind said breezily. "Did you hear all the fireworks? Yeah, we had limited resoorces, so we had to make do with guns."

"It must be nice to have such friends as yours. They must be very loyal to go back to jail just so you could have a crack at being hero."

"Are you insulting my superior intelligence?"

"Well, there must be some reason why you never succeeded against Metro Man."

"As a matter of fact, I did succeed, but only once. And then I found that I didn't quite like it. It was meloncholly."

The sheriff laughed. "You need to work on your pronunciation. We have a program at the prison that might help. It's the perfect fit for you."

Megamind sighed. He was too tired for this banter. "Enough. I'll just hand over the criminals and then you can lock them up."

"Is that it?" the sheriff asked.

Megamind knew what he was getting at. Of course, the sheriff had made his one ambition – well, obsession – quite clear from the start. "Of course it is! After what just happened, are you still saying that the city doesn't need me?"

"Oh, the city needs you, alright. It needs you behind bars."

Megamind sighed again and walked off. He couldn't handle that right at that moment. He found another officer who looked like he might be in charge. "Here. Be careful when you rehydrate them. They're still armed and dangerous. Dehydrating them was enough of a shallenge."

The officer seemed quite flabbergasted as he looked at the glowing blue cubes. "I – I, uh…"

"They came into the bank at around nine o'clock. They pulled out their guns and threatened everyone in the lobby. Fortunately they didn't take any hostages. They shot two guards and got the rest to open the vault for them. That's when I came in, dehydrated the two guards, and then went after them. The other guards escaped with my help at around nine forty. And then after that we chased each other around the building until I managed to catch them all. The end. Is that all you need to know?"

The police officer just stared.

"Well, if that isn't, just call me. Oh wait, I don't have a phone. Oh well, call Roxanne Ritchi instead." He walked away.

"Hey, come back here!"

Megamind searched his pockets. No, he had given them all six cubes. Whatever did the sheriff want?

"You're coming with me!" the sheriff cried, grabbing Megamind's collar.

Megamind rolled his eyes. "Not again…" He stumbled and fell to the ground, thrown off balance by the sheriff's rough handling. "Ouch!" he cried as he landed on his injured arm. "For Peace sake! Don't you get it? I'm the good guy now!"

"I don't care what you are now," the sheriff growled. "You still have ninety-one life sentences."

"The charges were cleared," Roxanne said. "I dropped everything. And as I was always the one being kidnapped, I think that you'd be hard-pressed to find another reason to put him back in jail. He belongs here now."

Megamind looked up at her gratefully from his uncomfortable position.

"Miss Ritchi," the sheriff said, releasing his grasp. "You can't just forgive and forget, and criminals never forget. Once a villain, always a villain."

"I'd like to test that claim!" Megamind said.

"You already have," Roxanne said. "Sheriff, you're being childish. He's done nothing wrong today. You have no reason to arrest him."

"I'll find a reason!" the sheriff shouted. "He's a criminal! A freak! A monster!"

"Wow, I'm finding this really interesting," a familiar voice said from behind the sheriff.

The sheriff turned and saw Evelyn staring at him disapprovingly. "Dr. Hart, what are you –" he gasped, but then he regained his composure. "Good morning, Dr. Hart. What brings you here?"

"I heard of the holdup at the bank, so I decided to come and see it for myself," she explained. "And I'm glad I did. There's been some very interesting developments, hasn't there?"

"Really?" the sheriff challenged. "What kind?"

"The kind that would find their way onto your psychological profile. I'm finding those very interesting. So interesting that your boss would really like to know. Unfortunately, that would probably mean you losing your job."

"Are you threatening me, Dr. Hart?"

"No. I am simply stating a fact. And that fact is that there is no place for bigots on the police force. If you cross the line one more time and I hear about it, I will be obliged to act. And you will not like the results."

"Then I shall see to it that you never get the chance to act."

"I certainly hope so."

"Good day, Dr. Hart." He turned away and left.

"Ciao." She turned and smiled at Roxanne and Megamind. "There we go. Now you've got yourselves a secret weapon." She rubbed her hands deviously.

"Thank you for that, Dr. Hart," Megamind said, standing up.

"What brought you out here?" Roxanne asked.

"Oh, I heard on the news about the holdup," Evelyn said. "So I thought I would swing by and see what's going on. When I saw the sheriff, I decided to stay and keep an eye on him. I'm glad I did."

"And we're glad, too."

"You can take care of all the villains, Megamind," Evelyn said. "And you, Roxanne, can take care of all the wild fans. I'll take care of the bigots and crazies."

"And between all of that, I do believe we're covered!"

Megamind groaned.

"What's up?" Roxanne asked.

"The sky," Megamind said dully. "Can't you see that for yourself?"

"No, that's just an expression."

"I thought so. I didn't think you'd ask such a mindless question."

"So, how are you?"

"I'm not up to doing an interview. I'm tired. I've been running all around the building dodging bullets."

"Those guys meant business."

"They meant to kill me. And the guards. Thankfully they were too greedy to abandon their gold and run. And they wanted to kill off 'the blue creep', as they called me." He put his head in his hands. "Metro Man wouldn't have taken so long."

"But you're not Metro Man."

He got to his feet shakily. "All I want to do is go back to the evil lair. Oh, has anyone thought of another name?"

"The Pretty Pink Princess Palace," Evelyn said immediately, looking dead serious.

Roxanne laughed. Megamind stared at the middle-aged woman and shook his head. "I'm not going to answer that. I'm not going to answer that."

"Then let's go back to the evil lair," Roxanne said. "You deserve to rest. And I really would like to look at your arm."

"But what about the reporters? Metro Man never missed an interview after saving the day."

Roxanne smirked. "Well, Metro man never had a girlfriend who threatened to slap him if he didn't go directly home to recover."

"Oh, so you're going to slap me?"

"I just might. If you don't fall flat on your face from blood loss from that obvious bullet wound in the shoulder."

"It's just a graze."

"Well, no interviews. Not today." She grinned. "Come on. Let's go back to the evil lair. I bet Minion's worried about you."

"How are we going to explain it all to them?" Megamind asked, gesturing to the crowd.

"Oh, they'll understand. Metro Man never had to spend two whole hours running around inside a bank."

"Roxanne, you know that with his superpowers he would have got it done a lot sooner."

"Exactly. He never had to deal with being tired or hurt, but you do. And you do need to rest and heal."

"Alright. To the evil lair! Are you coming, Roxanne?"

"Yes, I'm coming, but just to see you home. I don't think you'd be able to drive with that arm of yours."

Megamind took his injured arm out from behind his cape. He tried to lift it up, but he could only bring it to the level of his waist before giving up, grimacing with pain. "I have to agree with you there."

"Right. I'll also help with bandaging you up."

"Minion can do that."

"Ha, well, just in case he has any trouble, I'll be there. Bye, Evelyn!" Roxanne waved to the psychologist, who was now chatting with some of the police officers near the crowd.

"Evelyn?" Megamind asked.

"Her first name."

"I know that. But why are you calling her Evelyn? We hardly know her."

"Well, she and I have been seeing each other a bit. I'd like to cover Steve's story again, so I thought that a little background research would be useful. Of course, she was happy to help."

"I wonder how Steve's doing."

"Pretty well. He's making good progress, but he's still not quite oriented yet. I haven't seen him yet, though. I've just heard it from Evelyn."

Neither of them noticed the two people in front of them until it was too late. If they had, they would have escaped, but now they were completely at their mercy. "Hello," one of them said. Megamind leaped back with a yelp. Roxanne rolled her eyes and sighed. This was going to be _torture_.

"Could you please oblige by giving me an interview?" the woman asked sweetly. She had wavy, platinum blond hair. She looked at Megamind through her long lashes, dark blue eyes glittering underneath. Her blouse was low-cut.

Megamind could see by Roxanne's expression that this was not a friend of hers. They obviously agreed on a few very pivotal issues. One of them was most likely him. Megamind suspected that this woman wasn't going to be the most courteous type. However, he decided that maybe he was being a little too suspicious. "Of course," he said.

The woman preened her hair while the cameraman readied his equipment. "Hello everyone!" she chirped, sounding almost like a bird. "Here I am with the criminal mastermind known as Megamind, infamous for his numerous failed exploits. However, he has now succeeded for the first time ever. So, Megamind, how do you feel about this? Are you shocked?"

Megamind frowned. "As a matter of fact, this isn't the first time I succeeded."

"Oh yes, I forgot about that. There was that time where you finally defeated Metro Man."

Megamind shook his head. "No, there's been other things."

"So, what exactly happened? Were those old pals of yours at the bank today? Did you somehow convince them into staging a holdup so you could get another five minutes of fame? Or did you brainwash them?"

Megamind frowned. "No, I didn't do any of that." This woman's demeaning questions were making him dizzy. "This was a real holdup. People were in real danger."

"On another note, how are things going between you and Roxanne Ritchi? Are you two really together?"

Megamind looked in Roxanne's direction. She was still glowering at this woman reporter. She nodded emphatically at Megamind. He smiled. "Yes, we are."

"That is incredible. Has she really accepted you? Or do you still use your watch thing when you're at a date?"

"No, I have not used the disguise generator for _anything_ since Titan."

"I wonder what Miss Ritchi has to say to that. She's an attractive, gifted woman. She could do so much better than a blue freak like you."

Both of them gasped. "What?" Megamind said.

"Do you have trouble getting in the door with that big head of yours? Where do you find proper shirts that fit?" She cackled. She thrust the microphone right into Megamind's face, and he lost his balance and fell. She raised the microphone to her lips and continued. "What about your weird skin color? Can you get a tan? Does a sunburn turn you purple? Are there any other freakish details about your anatomy that you'd like to tell us? What do you have—"

Finally, someone intervened and stopped this woman's cruel tirade. Roxanne thrust her away from the camera. The woman yelped as she nearly fell into a malodorous garbage can. "Hello, this is Roxanne Ritchi," she said, smiling, but her eyes blazed with anger. "As you can see, Susan Fletcher is a complete jerk. And don't worry, her boss will be notified about this. Coming up next, Miss Fletcher's humiliating apology to Metro City's great defender." Then she threw the microphone down and glared at the cameraman until he shut off his machine. Thankfully he was so flustered by her performance that he shut it down pretty quickly. Then she went to her boyfriend's side. "Are you all right, Megamind?"

"I was right about her," he said, taking her hand and hauling himself to his feet. "Nowhere near as talented as you are."

"Mm-hm."

"That's the reason why you're pretty much the only reporter that I let interview me."

"Why? Because the rest are total dimwits?"

"No. They don't nearly look as good with me as you do." He raised an eyebrow. He began to sway, but Roxanne caught him before he could fall.

"How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy."

"It's probably your shoulder. Come on, let's get you to the hospital."

Megamind's wound looked a lot worse than what he had lead her to believe. Blood had travelled all the way down his arm, and the wound was quite deep. The bullet must have taken a whole chunk out of him as it streaked by. At the emergency room, however, they simply cleaned it up and sutured it.

"It's a good thing it missed the joint completely," the nurse said. "Otherwise you'd have a mess of ligaments and tendons. And once you damage those, they're never really the same again."

"That's a good thing to know," Megamind commented. "Avoid getting your shoulder hurt badly."

"So, that's it?" Roxanne said. "He almost passed out earlier."

"His vital signs are stable, but they do show changes indicative of early hypovolemic shock," the nurse said. She had already been told that Megamind's vitals were within the same limits as a human's. "However, now that this wound is sealed, his body should compensate and nothing bad will happen. Just drink a lot of fluids and rest."

"Hypovolumic shock," Megamind repeated.

"Hypovolemic. Low blood volume."

"I've heard of shock," Roxanne said. "It's pretty bad, isn't it?"

"It comes in stages," the nurse said. "I assume your body is pretty similar to ours. Your blood composition is nearly identical. So I suppose that your compensatory mechanisms are basically the same. Right now they seem to be doing a good job. However, you could still decompensate. The early signs are lightheadedness, persistent thirst, and feeling that something isn't right. If you start experiencing that, then please come right back here."

"I'll keep that in mind," Megamind said, standing up.

"How're you feeling now?" Roxanne asked.

"Tired, that's all," he said. "My arm's numb right now."

"It won't be for long," the nurse said.

"I was aware of that."

"So, when do we come back to have them removed?" Roxanne asked.

"Oh, don't bother coming here," the nurse said. "You'd probably be waiting five hours to get past triage. There's an urgent care clinic a block away from the library. They can take care of it. Or you could even go to an ordinary doctor's office."

"Thank you."

"Yes, thank you," Megamind said. "But please, don't tell anyone that I was here."

The nurse smiled. "That's confidential information. I'll tell no one but those who were involved in your care about what happened. No worries."

Another nurse came in. "Lynn, I've been trying to start this IV for ages now, but I can't find a vein. And I'd rather not call the IV team 'cause they're… yipes!" As soon as she saw Megamind, she barged through the door. "Lynn, what are you… what are you… call a code!" She reached over for a button on the wall, but Lynn quickly grabbed her hand.

"Excuse me, Carol, but I think you'd have a difficult time explaining to everybody why you called a code on a patient who was obviously standing and just about to _walk out the door_."

The nurse looked at Megamind. "Oh," she said, quickly turning pink.

"Yeah, assess your patient first _before_ you call a code. As you can see, he's responsive."

"What's going on?" Megamind asked.

"She was about to call a code blue," Lynn explained. "Cardiac arrest."

"I'm sorry, it's just… the skin color," Carol said.

"I know, it got me for a moment, too," Lynn said. "But that's not cyanosis, that's his natural pigmentation."

"Oh, right," Megamind said. "And that's why you call it code blue, right? Because the ones who are needing it are turning blue."

"Yes, pretty much. Well, now that you're all patched up and _not _coding, I think you're good to go."

"Thanks for your help," Roxanne said. "And thanks for your concern, Carol."

Carol blushed yet again.

"Come on, Megamind, let's go home."

*A/N: So, code blue. Wow. Now that's hospital drama. There will be an actual code blue later, complete with CPR, Narcan, and a defibrillator! Defibrillators are dangerous toys to play with. Last week we were able to practice with one in clinical, a real one with paddles and real electricity. You have to hold them down with twenty-five pounds of pressure and _no one_ can be touching the bed. Oxygen is turned away, and you have to be very careful with stethoscopes and long necklaces. Otherwise, you're going down with the patient, and there'll be two codes. That's not a rare occurrence, really. You can tell why they prefer the pads now :) Anyway, one of the students actually managed to freak out our teacher, and she's a critical care nurse, she's seen scary situations. Another interesting code is a code pink, when it actually happens, but I'm getting a little carried away here. More about Steve in the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

*A/N Yay! Summer's here! And so is Chapter Five!

Up In Arms100 - Well, I'm not your academy teacher, so you can keep your head :).

ShadowzKiss - I'm sorry to hear about your brother and sister. My internal life is pretty intense, so I find psychology really interesting. Very few things can get me really angry, and the way the US treats the mentally ill is one of them. I'm not sure how this will play into my life later on, but I think it will have a role.

Chapter Five:

Metro City was burning. Every building was ravaged by flames. They danced in the dark shells, feasting on any flammable object they could find. He could feel the heat against his eyeballs, and his throat was raw from the acrid smoke. The blazing streets were deserted. Not a soul could be seen. However, he knew that there were some people around. He could hear them sobbing, crying, screaming. Who had caused all of this?

He tried to move, but he was trapped. Something was tying him down with invisible chains. He looked down from a position high above the city, out of the reach of the flames. And strangely, a perverse joy rose up within him. Such destruction, such chaos! Lovely. But he shouldn't think that way. No, he was Metro City's defender! Not it's destroyer! He had to find who was responsible.

"Do you know who did all of this?" a voice boomed.

He looked around. He could see no one, but the voice sounded close. He tried to respond, but not a sound came from his mouth.

"You do know, don't you? You know this person very well."

He couldn't move his head. He was paralyzed. All he could do was watch the holocaust and listen to that voice.

"You thought you could be Metrocity's defender. You thought you could do something _good_ for once. Well, if there's one thing you're _not_, it's a hero. You're a villain, and you'll always be a villain. Look at this."

He looked. He had no choice. It was all around him. He could not escape from it.

"You caused all of this. You destroyed Metrocity. And you enjoyed it."

No! He couldn't have. And all those people burning because of him. This was far more evil than anything he had ever considered before. This was not some intellectual challenge. This was utter destruction, something that would satisfy the most bloodthirsty cravings anyone could ever have. He had never been like this, even as an evil genius. And certainly not now. However, a sense of accomplishment rose within him, along with the sense of horror.

"You know you did this. You can't deny it." The tormentor's voice began to laugh. It was an evil laugh, one that made his skin crawl like spiders were creeping all over him. He wanted to escape from that laugh. He wanted to get away. However, he was paralyzed. He couldn't move.

Suddenly, he was released. He was able to move once more. He looked around. There was a cool, dark tunnel nearby. He could escape from that insane laughter in there. He ran to the dank hole. However, the laughter followed him in there. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He couldn't get it past his vocal cords. The laughter followed him incessantly. He looked wildly for the source of it. Then he suddenly realized that the source was _him_. _He_ was the one who was laughing. A scream rose up inside of him, but it couldn't make it past the insane laughter.

And then he woke up. He wiped the sweat of his broad forehead. He groaned. So much for a peaceful sleep. The nightmares were getting worse now. They weren't only about him losing Roxanne. Now there were also ones like the one he had just had, ones where he became evil again, and far more evil than he had ever thought he'd be. Destroying things just for the sake of _destroying_ things.

He sighed, letting his head fall back down on his pillow. He wanted this to end. Metro Man would never have had dreams like those. Of course, he had never known what it was like to be _evil_. He looked over at the clock. Three in the morning. Way too early to get up. But he wasn't going to be falling asleep anytime soon. It had taken him until after midnight to finally fall asleep. Well, there was no helping it. He had a few new ideas for inventions now. He could go work on them now, until he hopefully felt like falling asleep again. However, his lack of sleep was having noticeable effects on his inventive genius. Things were just not working the way they were supposed to work, and to a far greater extent than what was previously normal.

He got to his feet and plodded to his lab. He never knew being a hero was so difficult. Nightmares, tiredness, and now just not being able to do anything, was that what Metro Man had to deal with? No, he didn't think so. Perhaps he just wasn't the right person for the job. Maybe he should quit the hero business and do something else instead. Of course, he wouldn't go back to being a villain. Roxanne would not be happy. Perhaps he could get a more normal job, one that did not require superpowers. One that did not require a mind at peace.

He looked at the diagram he had been working on before. For some reason, it had lost its appeal. He didn't feel like he could invent anything today. All he wanted to do was go lie down and sleep. Well, since he couldn't sleep, then curling up in a corner and doing nothing was more appealing. The diagram looked a little blurry. He rubbed his eyes. That seemed to help a little, with his vision, but not with the dark cloud over his mind. Well, he had to do something. He decided to push on ahead. If not for himself, then at least for Roxanne and Minion. They both believed in him. They both thought he could do this. He would try his best to make them happy.

They seemed to be worried about him. Roxanne was constantly checking in on him. If she didn't show up at the front doormat every day, then she called him on the phone she had begged him to get. That was one of the things they had done first. It had been about four days since she had first visited, the day they had watched that movie. And Minion was doing more cooking and tidying than he had ever done before. And he was constantly bothering him by asking how he was. He did much more for Megamind now than he had done previously. Megamind was on the verge of being spoiled. However, he was at little risk, as he was too tired and troubled to notice the princely treatment.

He sighed. Well, enough thinking about his friends. It was time to bend his exhausted mind to work. Even though his head was gigantic, it wasn't immune to sleep deprivation. He hadn't slept well for several weeks now, and it was taxing him. If only he could be saved from this soon. Hmmm. Metro City's hero needed a hero himself. How ironic.

-CR-

Roxanne was slightly nervous upon reaching the hospital. She had never set foot inside a psychiatric hospital before. She had no idea what to expect. She had sent Evelyn an email asking to meet with Steve. She really did not expect her to write back and invite her cordially to see him in the hospital. She had expected to wait until he was discharged, perhaps.

The hospital was a brown two level building. Several trees grew tall beside it, sheltering it with their abundant branches. It looked more like a school than a hospital or prison. It was completely unlike the typical ones seen in horror movies and similar things. It was also in a residential area. Several houses were nearby. In fact, one across the street had children playing in the yard, romping with a dog. Roxanne smiled. It was a pleasant, peaceful scene.

When she came to the doors, they were locked. A woman at a desk nearby smiled at her. "What brings you here?"

"I'm here to visit someone," Roxanne explained. "Steve Wilkinson."

"Ah. Are you Roxanne Ritchi?"

"Yes, I am."

"Dr. Hart told us you were coming. You're a reporter, aren't you?"

Roxanne nodded. "Yes, I am."

"I suppose you're wanting to do something on him."

"Yes, that's one of the reasons I'm here."

"You may have to wait a bit. Most of the stuff you will see here is confidential information."

Roxanne frowned. "Well, I'm hoping that by doing this report I'll be able to educate the public on the true nature of mental illness."

The woman smiled. "I know, but we have to remember HIPAA. I'm not telling you to give up on it. I'm just telling you to wait. He may be perfectly willing to share his story. When he's feeling better, that is."

"How is he now?"

The woman shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm only telling you what Dr. Hart told me to tell you. I'm the receptionist."

"So, where is he at?"

"The adult unit. It's way over on the other end of the building. I think I should – oh, never mind. Here comes Danielle. She can take you where you need to go. Hi, Danielle!"

The dark woman waved. Her black hair was tied in a knot at the back of her head. She was dressed smartly in a black and white patterned dress. "Hello, Rhonda."

"Are you going over to the adult unit?"

"Yes, I am."

"This lovely woman is here to visit someone. Would you mind taking her down?"

Danielle simply smiled. "Not at all. Come along. Sorry I can't stay and chat, Rhonda. I'll be late for group."

Roxanne followed behind. The woman glided swiftly with her long legs. "I'm Roxanne Ritchi."

"Hello, Miss Ritchi. I've heard a lot about you. You certainly gave the staff a lot to talk about. They're all saying you have Stockholm syndrome."

Roxanne bristled at this. "Actually, at first I didn't even know who he was. And I'm—"

"Relax, I'm not one of those people. And those people aren't that common. Megamind's been doing that kidnapping charade for years now. You'd think Stockholm's would show its face before now."

"He _used to_ do it," Roxanne corrected.

"Sorry. My bad. You'd think I'd have learned not to put my foot in my mouth by now. Dr. Hart thinks Megamind's got a good chance. I've never known her to be wrong."

Roxanne began to relax. Perhaps she was being a little too defensive. "Dr. Hart works here?"

"Not exactly. She has her own office. But she does lend a hand every now and then. And she follows her own patients."

"Oh."

"I'm doing a chemical dependency group. I don't think your friend will be going to that one. Just talk to the nurse and she'll get you with him." Danielle strode through the door confidently, gesturing to the nurse's station.

Roxanne timidly walked towards the nurse's station. She was keenly aware that there was no barrier separating her from the patients. However, she could hardly tell that they were patients. They wore regular street clothes and conversed with each other quite naturally. There was a puzzle on a table by the far window. It looked so normal that she would have easily thought it was a college dorm.

"Hello, who do you want to see?" the nurse asked, flipping the chart closed.

"Yes, I'd like to see Steve Wilkinson," Roxanne said. She looked around. "My, I never thought a mental hospital would look like this."

"This is a combined adult psychiatric and chemical dependency unit," the nurse said, standing up. "That should hopefully change soon. Most of the people here just need to be stabilized. They're oriented for the majority of the time. So, Steve Wilkinson…" her light green eyes roamed the gathering. "You're the first visitor he's had. Poor guy. Dr. Hart tried to get a hold of his mother, but she was downright rude."

"Dr. Hart? Evelyn's his doctor?"

The nurse smiled broadly. "You know her? Wonderful woman. Yes, she volunteered to be the one in charge of his psychiatric care. He's doing really well. Most positive symptoms have abated. He doesn't have delusions any more. He still has some hallucinations, but he knows they aren't real. They just bother him. However, he does behave a little odd. Ah, here he is. Hello, Mr. Wilkinson. Are you enjoying that magazine?"

The young man started, looked up, and nodded. "Yes, very much," he muttered.

"Aren't you kind of lonely here all by yourself?"

"No. I don't think they'd like me. I'm weird."

"Mr. Wilkinson, everyone here has problems. You're not any weirder than they are."

Steve nodded, still not making any eye contact, but Roxanne could tell from his posture that he did not believe this.

"This is Roxanne Ritchi. She wants to talk to you today."

Now Steve did make eye contact. He looked up and stared at Roxanne. "You – You are? Why?"

"I'm a reporter," Roxanne said with what she hoped was a friendly smile. "I did your story when your situation was brought to court. I was intrigued, and I want to continue your story, hopefully getting your happy ending. I want to help the public understand what mental illness really is."

"And you want to use me?"

"Why not?"

Steve looked over at the nurse. "I'm going to be on the news?"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure it's a good story."

"I never thought I'd be on the news," he said thoughtfully. "I've always been just an ordinary boy."

Roxanne smiled. She could tell that this man was not a murderer. He was a young adult, possibly even teenager. The way he hesitated to make eye contact made him seem shy, and he fidgeted with the corners of his magazine.

"Well, until now," he corrected with a grimace. "Now I'm a freak."

"Hey, freaks aren't that bad," Roxanne said lightly. "I happen to be dating one."

"Megamind? Do you know… what happened that night… that I…"

"That wasn't you," Roxanne said calmly. "I understand that now, and he does, too. No one blames you."

"But I could have killed him!" he said in a small voice.

"Yes, you could have. I'm not going to deny that. But you were sick! Sick people need treatment, not punishment."

"I was so terrified. It's just… the voices, they scared me. I left my house. I had to get away from them. But they kept following me. I couldn't think. I – it was all mixed up inside my head. The things I should have known I didn't know, and I knew other things that now I see are just ridiculous. I thought – I thought he was the reason for it. I knew something was wrong. I thought he was the cause. I thought if I… got him out of the way… then it'd all be over. I didn't think that it was _myself_ who was the problem."

"Mr. Wilkinson, there is no need to blame yourself," the nurse said.

"I should have been able to stop it. I should have… controlled myself."

"The only way you could have done that is with your mind. And your mind was not in a good state to help you."

"So there's no hope for me."

"No, there's still hope. Many people now are getting better on the new medications. And we're finding more and better ways to deal with the chronic effects. It's a long, tough road, but we're going to get you out there working, living in a house, and having a wife and kids. You may have relapses, but you can come here whenever it comes out of hand."

"But I'll always be crazy."

"Schizophrenia is a chronic illness, yes, but you won't always be acutely psychotic. How do you feel now?"

Steve looked at the floor. He had already been staring past both of the women, but now he lowered his gaze even further. "I'm not the same," he said in a low voice. "I've changed. I can't do anything now."

"Mr. Wilkinson, with time you will be able to overcome that."

"What's the point?" he asked, his voice growing louder. "I can't overcome anything if I'm… hearing voices and if I can't pay attention to a five minute long conversation because I'm too busy deciphering the cracks in the walls!"

"Mr. Wilkinson—"

"No!" Steve said, abruptly standing. His whole body was tense, but then he drooped. "I-I'm sorry." He walked out from between them. "I'm going to my room."

The nurse followed him, walking briskly. However, Steve's leggy stride carried him through the door of his room long before the nurse arrived. Roxanne had followed also, and she stood at the doorframe. Steve was on the bed, curled up on top of the covers. The nurse gently laid a hand on his shoulders and began to talk to him.

"It's hard to see them like this."

Roxanne jumped. The voice caught her by surprise, having been accompanied by no approaching footsteps. She looked into the stoic face of Dr. Hart. "Oh, hello, Evelyn. I didn't hear you coming."

Evelyn only nodded. "You've come to visit?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd be able to help him out somehow. Seems like I did more harm than good."

"Oh, you didn't bring this on. It came from himself, not from you. I'm sure he's grateful that you came. He may not be now, but he will." She sighed. "The medication's working well. Perhaps for the first time in months, maybe years he's been able to see what's really going on. And that's not a pleasant thing to see."

"I can tell."

"Schizophrenia has two different categories of symptoms. He has the paranoid subtype, which means he experiences a bit of both. Positive symptoms are hallucinations and delusions. Medications usually fix that. It's the negative symptoms that we really worry about. Stuff like depression, low self-esteem, lack of motivation, lack of pleasure, and sometimes lack of emotion. Those can't really be treated pharmacologically. Years and years of psychotherapy may help. But usually these people can't live up to the full potential of what they were before."

"It's much more than I thought it was."

"Of course. There's the acute phase and the chronic phase. The chronic phase is what you're seeing now. Personally, I prefer them kicking and screaming. They have more of a chance than the one sitting quietly in a corner staring at the wall."

"But what about him?"

"Paranoid schizophrenia has a good prognosis compared to the rest, but he's young. The younger they are, the harder it hits. And he doesn't have any support. He's been kicked out of school, doesn't have any skills for a job, and his own mother doesn't want anything to do with him."

"Does he have any other family?"

"No. His father died in a work accident several years ago. His mother remarried but he also passed away. He's the oldest, and the next one isn't even half his age. No aunts or uncles nearby. There's someone in Russia, but we all think it's best to keep him here in Metro City."

"Yes. It's a real shame."

"That it is. He's real sweet if he's not acutely psychotic. Very polite. He does his best to help. Even in the ICU he was a bit more well-behaved than most."

"I might be able to do something to help. Perhaps Megamind could think of something."

"I sure hope you will. It would help him so much to have an understanding environment. That way he might be able to stay out of the revolving door."

Roxanne laughed. "The revolving door?"

"That's what we call it. Get them out well, they come back in sick again without any improvement. Oh, and speaking about Megamind, how is our new hero?"

Roxanne smiled sadly. "Not doing too well. He's been having nightmares, trouble sleeping. He was injured that day at the bank and still recovering. I think he's taking it hard, being wounded."

Evelyn nodded. "Mm-hm, it'll take him a while to stop comparing himself to Metro Man. Do you think he'd mind if I pay him a visit?"

"He might be a little suspicious, but I don't think you should worry. I want you to go check on him."

"Yeah, I want to, too," Evelyn said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a meeting with Mr. Wilkinson."

"In that state?"

Evelyn shrugged. "I'm a clinical psychologist. This is my job." She walked in, swinging her cane evenly with her step. "How are you doing, Mr. Wilkinson?"

"Do you really need to ask?" the poor man said.

"I can see that you're upset, but I want to hear it from you."

There was a pause. "Is Miss Ritchi still here?"

"Yes, I'm here," Roxanne said.

"About that happy ending, I don't think it's coming."

"That's the thing about happy endings: you never can tell," Roxanne said. "Things always get very difficult until the end. I'm sure many of the characters don't think they're going to get a happy ending."

"She's right, Mr. Wilkinson. I believe that you can live a normal life with your illness. I wouldn't be here to help you if I didn't."

"I suppose not," Steve said slowly.

"Do you mind talking right now?"

"No, it's fine. If you don't mind me bawling on you. It might just happen."

"Oh, I get that all the time. Let's move over to the conference room."

The nurse looked at Roxanne after the two had left. "I've seen worse," she said, noticing how Roxanne stared at where they had disappeared in the hall.

"I'm sure you have," Roxanne said. "But I haven't. And it looks very sad."

"It's always sad."

"Then how do you work here? I'm sure you get a great many sad stories here."

"Oh yes, lots. But I chose to work here because I wanted to make a difference in this specific way. As a nurse it's important to never forget your emotions. They help you understand and give you reason to work. But it's also important to restrain them. Oh, there's a lot of things I see here I don't agree with, but that doesn't give me leave to show it."

Roxanne nodded. "I've had some of that before." She could remember quite a few interviews with people who just made her want to crawl away and hide in a corner. She had to control her face quite rigorously so a grimace didn't show. "Though not quite for the same reasons."

"It was nice meeting you Miss Ritchi. Come to visit him again soon. A friendly face is a good remedy for a heavy heart."

"I'll do all I can to help."

"Yes, but just showing your pretty little face might be all he needs. Thanks again."

Roxanne smiled. "You're welcome. I hope I see you again next time."

"Good bye."

Roxanne nodded and walked down the hallway. She was pretty sure she could remember the path she took before.

*A/N I've already got Chapter Six on my computer. In a couple of days I'll have it up. More from Steve later, and a bit more of his psychosis, too. Sad stuff, but don't worry, I won't torture him too much. And I won't torture Megamind forever, either. I'm not that mean. I like happy endings :D


	6. Chapter 6

*A/N Oops! Got a little ahead of myself. I edited and posted Chapter Seven first, forgetting that I hadn't finished Chapter Six! You can read the Author's Note for Chapter Seven. That'll explain what I've been up to for so long.

Chapter Six:

Megamind was still recovering from the bullet wound. He hadn't lost a lot of blood, but it was enough to make him slightly anemic. However, the people at the hospital didn't worry about it enough to give him a blood transfusion. His main complaints were fatigue, pain, and the dizziness he got when he stood up. He had some medication for the pain, though. The fatigue and the dizziness bothered him to no end. The people of Metro City were beginning to trust him. Now the mayor and several other officials were asking favors of him. It was nothing much, really. The mayor was asking for a meeting so they could get started on making his new museum. Some high up law enforcement person (not the sheriff) was asking for a trial on a new version of brainbots. And someone else wanted him to open up a mall. There was all that and the stuff that he normally did around the lair. He was still trying to redesign the brainbots to make them more citizen-friendly. They still could be quite unruly. Thankfully, no child had been mauled by a disobedient brainbot… yet. And then he was brainstorming other ideas to improve the lives of Metro City. Villains weren't going to be around all the time, and he had to do _something_ in the meantime.

However, his injury was slowing him down, and he hated being slowed down. He got tired quickly, and every time he stood up quickly, forgetting about the blood thing, he nearly passed out. At one point he was in his favorite chair, nearly dozing off in front of a pile of plans and diagrams that didn't have much on them. However, the images of his latest dream disturbed him and kept him awake. He was afraid to close his eyes, because every time he blinked he saw it again.

It had started off like many other dreams, with Roxanne in danger. Seriously, how many times did he have to dream about that? Did Metro Man ever have to deal with nightmares of himself failing? Anyway, some masked figure garbed in black was holding her by the throat, ready to choke the life out of her. He was laughing and taunting Megamind, so the new hero acted, ready to save his beloved. However, when he pulled the mask of the mysterious man to punch him in the face, he was in for the surprise of his life. He saw…

Himself.

Yes. His own big-headed blue visage was leering back at him in the dark shadows. He let Roxanne's body slump to the ground. "I should have done that a long time ago," the specter said. "I'm no hero. After a while I tired of it. I am and will always be a supervillain. But she was stopping me. So, I had to get rid of her." Then he leaned close until he could feel his own hot breath on his own face. "I'd suggest you do the same. You're not yourself, you know. You're evil, and you'll always be evil. Let her go and forget what it is to be good. You can't ever be good. Don't you remember your first life lesson? You're the bad guy."

"If I am, then I resign," Megamind muttered to himself. He looked around. No one was there to see him. Minion had left to get some more supplies for the invisible car. He had offered up a few more suggestions himself, that fantastic fish. It was dead quiet in the lair. Dead quiet and lonely. He sighed. There was no one but himself. Oh, what a terrifying thought. He was left alone with himself, just like in his dream. Oh dear.

An alarm sounded. Well, it wasn't actually an alarm. It was only a little light that flashed from a screen on the wall. Someone was entering the lair. Megamind had installed a little alert system to notify him when someone entered, now that Roxanne was regularly visiting and some important city people knew where he lived he had quite a few more visitors. However, it wasn't an "alarm" alarm. He tried to make it friendly and non-alarming, a bit like a doorbell. Nevertheless, he was still startled. He wasn't used to having visitors, and he knew of no one who'd come at this time. Minion wouldn't be back for another hour at least and Roxanne was working. And no government person came at this time in the morning. It was someone else.

He sprang out of his chair and instantly regretted it. His vision went black. He quickly collapsed on the ground, unable to see anything to grab onto as dizziness overwhelmed him. He lay there for only a few seconds, and then he hauled himself up to a sitting position. He held his head in his hands as if he were trying to keep it from splitting open. He could hear his pulse bounding somewhere in his brain. The black spots began to clear from his vision. Oh, how he hated that.

"Does it affect you more because of your greater cerebral mass?" a voice asked suddenly.

Megamind looked up, startled. He nearly made the same mistake again, but his legs would not have held him if he sprang up. Dr. Hart was standing at the entrance, watching him. "What?"

"It's only guesswork," she said. "I mean, I don't really know anything about your anatomy, but if your brain tissue is anything like ours you'll need a lot more blood to perfuse your cerebrum compared to us."

"I suppose," he said slowly.

"So, if your brain needs more of your cardiac output than it does in a human, then you'd be more vulnerable to orthostatic hypotension."

"You're not making much sense."

"Sorry. I'm just thinking that, because your head is bigger than ours, then it needs more blood and oxygen than ours do. And orthostatic hypotension is when your blood pressure drops a lot after you stand up. Because your brain needs more blood, it will start shutting down at higher levels than a human's, giving you a lower tolerance for blood pressure changes."

"I suppose so. Haven't really thought of that. How did you get here?"

"I walked. Oh, I see what you mean. Roxanne told me. She's worried about you, Megamind. You seem to be under a great deal of stress."

Megamind shrugged, a challenge now that one arm had painful stitches. "I'm managing."

"She says you're having nightmares."

"Everyone has nightmares."

"Yes, I know that, but I'm not sure you do."

Megamind turned and stared at her. "What? If you don't think I have nightmares, then why are you here? Are you trying to prove Roxanne wrong or something?"

"No, I meant that I'm not sure you know that everyone has nightmares."

"Maybe not _everyone_."

"See what I mean? Metro Man's, well, a man. He's not a god. He may have superpowers, but he's still got feelings. Normal person feelings. Some days he might not have felt like being a hero. Maybe sometimes he felt like taking a vacation."

Megamind snorted in laughter. Oh, she didn't know about the whole Music Man thing. To her, Metro Man was still dead.

Dr. Hart carried on without staring at Megamind in confusion. She probably attributed his reaction to skepticism. "Oh, I'm sure he did. Some days I don't think I can be a clinical psychologist. It's not the happiest job on the planet. We can't save everyone."

"Metro Man was a hero. He didn't even have to try. Here I am working my butt off and yet I'm still struggling. I nearly got taken down in my first real rescue. How's that for a hero?"

Dr. Hart held up a finger. "How's that for a hero-in-training? May I remind you that there were no fatalities that day? That everyone's alive and well thanks to you? Especially those two guards, they would have never made it. One of them ruptured his aorta. That's an emergency. Thanks to you they had him in the OR within fifteen minutes of his injury – in his time. He would not have lasted an hour. The other had cardiac tamponade. The sac around his heart was filling with fluid, crushing it. He went into cardiac arrest a minute after they rehydrated him, but they had a doctor right there who could drain the fluid and save his life. You saved both of them. They would have flat out died if you weren't there."

"So what? That's just two people. Metro Man's saved hundreds and thousands. From _me_."

"How long have you been in the hero business? Hardly a month, right? Give yourself a break. You're doing excellent. I'm very impressed by your progress. I've seen many people promise to get their lives right and then break those promises. And I've seen others keep those promises. You've got the qualities of those promise keepers. You're going to win this. You've got everything going for you. Look around. Everyone's supportive of you."

Megamind snorted again. "Well, not _everyone_. There's that sheriff. He'll get me someday."

"Yes, but only if you let him. And I know you won't let him. And if he gets you for something he made up, I will be there to back you up."

Megamind looked at her, eyes wide. "Why are you doing this? Why do you care so much? We've only just met."

"I'm a clinical psychologist," Dr. Hart said. "It's what I do." She paused, and then continued in a low voice. "You know, I wouldn't mind treating you. I can be your psychologist. You obviously need it."

Megamind was offended. "Are you calling me crazy?"

"No. Anyone can use a little help, not just the crazy ones. You're obviously stressed. If we can talk, we may find out the source of your problems and maybe find a few answers. You'll probably have less nightmares after we confront your problems and find solutions to them."

"I don't think so."

"Come on, it's worked before."

"No, I don't mean that! I mean… I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not? Megamind, this city needs a hero. If you aren't up to the job, then who is? Who knows, some punk may decide to come along and find out what you're really made of. If you're sick because you can't sleep, then what can you do to help? And you might just give up completely on heroism. I can't let that happen. I love this city. Even though I've only been here for a while, I love it and I don't want to see it ruined."

"We're still reconstructing after Titan," Megamind said in a low voice. "This isn't what it's usually like."

"I know, but my point still stands. I love Metro City. And Metro City needs you, and it needs you well, and that means _emotionally_ and _mentally_ well, too."

"I'm completely fine!" Megamind snapped. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Yes, but the best treatment for a disease is prevention."

"I may never have problems."

"Yes, but there's always a risk."

"I don't want people to know!" Megamind began to pace. "I can't have them think something's wrong with me. If they see me visiting you, I may be ruined. Who wants a crazy hero? Who wants someone with… mental and emotional issues protecting their city? No one, I tell you!"

"All information is strictly confidential."

"Yes, but there's always a _risk_. Somebody just might see me go in for an appointment. Or one of the other patients might recognize me!"

"True, that is possible, but we can cover it up with a story of some sort."

"I'm sorry," Megamind said in a low voice. "I can't take the risk."

"Megamind, it's for your own good, and for the city."

"You can't make me!" he shouted at her, fists clenched. He then turned away, his cape sweeping dramatically. "Please leave."

"I'll leave you my business card," Evelyn said. "In case there are any changes."

"Fine," Megamind growled.

Evelyn handed him the card. "I'm sorry to have bothered you today." She turned and walked away. When she reached the door, she paused. "You know, I just remembered something. I received an invitation today from a local church. Well, it was a new friend of mine who invited me. They're having a picnic on Saturday afternoon at the beach. They're open to anyone coming. I know because I asked if a nurse could bring Steve and they said yes, even after I told them his history. I'm sure they'd accept you."

"I don't know," Megamind said, his anger disappearing like a chalk drawing on a sidewalk when it rained. A picnic… had he ever gone to a picnic? Yes, he had once, and it had ended in disaster. He didn't want such a thing to happen again. But picnics were fun. They were going to do it down at the beach, too. How many times had he enjoyed himself by having a picnic in his lifetime? It seemed like a great opportunity. Perhaps he could make things right, smooth out his transition from bad guy to hero. And these guys sounded nice. But he couldn't do it on his own. "Will Roxanne be there?"

Evelyn smiled. "I knew you'd ask. Don't worry, she's already accepted. She'll be there with you, and you'll get to see Steve again. He's a different person now."

"Thank you. I think I'll come."

Evelyn nodded and turned to walk out the door.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Hart. For how I treated you. I should not have lost my temper like that."

"Don't worry, I'm a big girl. My feelings rarely get hurt."

"But it wasn't right."

"I know, and I know you're stressed. I'll go get out of your hair now."

"I don't have any."

"It's an expression."

"I know, I just wanted to have fun."

"Goodbye, Megamind, and don't forget my offer."

"Oh, I won't, but I won't be needing it."

"Well, if you do, don't hesitate to call."

"Thanks anyways. Bye, Dr. Hart."

The woman left. Even she didn't expect that offer to be accepted in such a short time. Megamind watched her use her cane to press the button to open the door. She leaned to her left, putting all her weight on that leg. Her right leg was simply there for decoration. It didn't do anything. However, she was wearing shorts and flip-flops, so Megamind could see nearly her whole leg, and the only deformity were the scars on her knee. There seemed to be several of them, but they were old, small, and white. They were hardly noticeable. Megamind again found himself wondering what had happened to her to cripple her in that way. This was the first time he had seen her knee and lower leg. Whenever he had seen her before she had been dressed in pants or a skirt, more formal attire than what she had on now, her simple, casual, "going-for-a-little-stroll-around-Metro-City" wear. Yes, he wondered, but he didn't feel like asking yet. She was still a stranger to him. However, maybe Roxanne knew.

He turned back to his diagramming. Seriously, nothing seemed to hit him at the moment. Besides the wave of exhaustion that swept over him once he sat down. That was the thing with tiredness, it seemed to come on the strongest when one was seated and immobile. He rested his head on one of his hands and drew with the other. He began to write out one of his speeches, but he kept dozing off. In the end it was quite a bizarre speech.

"Thank you, citizens of Metrocity. I have long allowed no brainbots to get into the... I have long awaited this momentous occasion since I quit playing Snakes and Ladders in the Jacuzzi... since I quit my position as the incredibly handsome master of all violinists performing here in the Metrocity... villainy and became your hero instead. Indeed, I am very flattered that you would choose to build a museum dedicated to the study of boring, dusty old rocks that you could just find in your backyard... for me. I never expected such an honor to be bestowed upon a little boy of eight who saved his mother from a rabid crocodile..."

Wait, rabid crocodile? Could crocodiles get rabies? And didn't crocodiles live in Africa? He rubbed his eyes. His whole speech was a mess of nonsensical crossed out words. Some of the things he had wrote were so ridiculous he wondered what he was thinking of when he had wrote them down. Snakes and Ladders in the Jacuzzi? They didn't have a Jacuzzi. Where did that come from? Oh, that was from when Minion was wanting to order a waterproof board game. That was Megamind's remark. Of course, Minion was a little offended by that. Where was Minion, by the way?

Right at that moment, Minion barged through the door, singing "Crazy Train" at the top of his lungs yet again. He tossed a bag onto one of the chairs. "Got the tools you needed, sir!"

"What tools?" Megamind asked, his voice muffled by the desk.

Minion gave him a strange expression when he saw his position. "Sir, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Minion," Megamind said with a sigh. "Just tired."

"Sir, why don't you take a nap? You'll feel much better after a nice long sleep."

"You know perfectly well why I can't," Megamind snapped, yanking his head up and causing his chair to scoot back a little. "I can't sleep because I can't stand my dreams."

"Are you still having nightmares?"

"Yes, I am."

"You've had more than enough time to get over it, sir."

"Yes, yes, that's just what she said!" he shouted, leaping off his chair and charging past Minion.

"Um, she, sir?"

"Dr. Hart. She came to visit me. She said that I could really use her services. Ha, as if. I'm not in the least bit seekotic."

"Well, maybe she'd get rid of the nightmares. You'd like that, won't you?"

"Of course I would! Do you think I'm enjoying this torment?"

"Well, why don't you take her offer?"

"Because I just might be seen. And then people will laugh and refuse to have me as their hero."

"They're very careful with that stuff, sir. And anyway, it's not for forever. It'll only take a few sessions, probably."

"I won't go!"

"Then you won't get cured of your nightmares," Minion said firmly.

"I can deal with them!"

"Really? Then why aren't you sleeping?"

"Go away!"

"Sir, I'm just –"

"I said go away! Can't you take an order?"

"Sir, you need to –"

"Get away from me, you finned fiend!" Megamind's eyes flashed as he bellowed this. His hands were shaking as he held the gun at his friend. The gun? Somehow he must have picked up one of his weapons as he began to shout at Minion. And by the look on his friend's face, the poor fish thought that he was about to use it. He let the weapon fall to the floor. "I'm so sorry, Minion. I would have never hurt you."

"Yes, I know that, but that wasn't you. You need to rest, sir. Or else you'd blast Roxanne if she doesn't make your favorite cookies right." Minion spoke calmly, but he was obviously trembling in his little fishbowl.

"I can't rest," Megamind said heavily.

"Then get help," Minion commanded.

"Yes, I will. I'm calling her right now."

"I'll always be here for you, sir. Me and Roxanne. I need to put the rest of these away. I'll be back to check on you soon."

When he got back, Megamind was already stretched out on the couch fast asleep. Dr. Hart was on the floor beside a large plastic box that she was buckling closed. She looked up when she heard Minion approaching. "Hello, Minion. I was just going to find you to tell you what's going on."

"Okay," Minion said. "What did you do to him?"

Dr. Hart sighed. "He's so sleep deprived that I was worried for his safety. I had to give him a medication to help him decrease his deficit. This is only a temporary measure. The medication I gave him can be highly addictive, and he'll probably develop tolerance after a couple weeks of using it."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I've already discussed it with him. He's agreed to two month's worth of individual psychotherapy. That should help him work out his problems."

"He was pretty ticked earlier."

"Oh, that's sleep deprivation for you. So, he should sleep a good long time. The medication should relax him enough for him not to have nightmares as bad as before, but it doesn't always work that way. Just stay with him and talk to him if he needs it."

Minion smiled. "That's my job."

"And I daresay you're very good at it. Good day, Minion. I hope to see you this weekend. There's a picnic, and he's agreed to come. _Everybody's_ welcome."

"A picnic! That's great!"

Dr. Hart smiled. "I know it is. Have a good day." She waved and then left the building, and Minion was left with a sleeping Megamind.

Minion looked down with a smile at his dozing master. "Yes, it is my job, and I enjoy it very much. I'm here for you, sir."

*A/N The speech didn't come out quite the way I wanted it. On Word I had all the nonsensical parts crossed out. I've had some experience with that. A couple times I've been studying when I'm tired and then I write down the wrong word. Or I doze off the middle of a sentence and my brain comes up with an ending to it that is totally bizarre. One time I was dozing off in class and then I got an "aha" moment. I thought that that mental state when you're just about to doze off is a bit like the disordered thinking that comes with psychosis. Have any of you had such experiences before? I'm a weird sleeper, I know. I still walk and talk in my sleep occassionally, and that's very rare for adults. It's most common in preschoolers. It runs in the family, though. My grandmother sleepwalked as a young adult. That makes for some very interesting stories...


	7. Chapter 7

*A/N Yes, it's me! I'm back! I'm not dead or anything. I've sort of fallen out of writing for a while, but I'm trying to get back in. A few things have changed, though. I'm no longer in nursing school. I've graduated, and with the highest GPA of the entire program! That was a surprise (to me, at least). I took my boards and passed and now I'm a full Registered Nurse! I'm on the database and everything. I just don't have my paper license yet. And some more good news: I might be getting my first job within six weeks. The place I volunteer at takes in new nurses and they give top priority to volunteers. I missed the last opening because the right people didn't know about me, but we fixed that and as soon as they have an open space in orientation I will be there. I can't wait. I volunteer there with the Infection Control nurse, and she had me meeting all these people in hopes of getting me hired. I've even met with the CEO. I really hope I can work there. One of my former classmates got hired for the last orientation, and there's also another lady from my church who just got hired. It's also a smaller hospital in a smaller town, so I think I'd like the pace. I will have to sign a two-year contract, though, but I have no problem with that. A lot of other places require experience, so I think that two years will be plenty to get me in. However, I might not want to leave after just two years ;)

Chapter Seven:

The day of the picnic had arrived sooner than Megamind had expected. He had looked forward to it a lot, but sometimes he was afraid to go. Not often, though. However, now that he and Minion were parked in the invisible car watching a group of children wrestling with a gigantic beachball, he thought that the day had come too soon. He looked down at his black-clad arms. He had not found anything suitable for beach attire in his lair, so he had to make do with what he had. No spikes, but he was still wearing his usual black leather outfit with its large collar.

"Aren't we going to go, sir?" Minion asked.

Megamind sighed. "You can go if you want, Minion. I'm not sure if I want to."

"Roxanne's going to be there. I'm sure she'll be very disappointed if you didn't show up."

"Minion, do you really think they'll accept me? Ever since I first came here I've been the freak."

"Yes, but that's changing now."

"How much, though? How much has it changed? Minion, do you really expect them to forget what I am? I don't belong here, and I'm not like them. How many people are there on this planet who have blue skin and over-sized heads? Only one, and that's me. Will they ever stop seeing me in that way and see me as what I am inside?"

"Roxanne does," Minion reminded him. "And Dr. Hart."

"Roxanne's my girlfriend, and Dr. Hart's a clinical psychologist. They're the exceptions. What about normal people? What about the citizens? I still see the children run for cover when I go for a walk. It's very discouraging."

"They will learn, sir. But if you don't try and get out there, it'll always be like this."

Megamind sighed.

"If you don't get out there, then you'll never find out."

"You're right, Minion. I know it myself that I have to do it, but sometimes doing the right thing is hard."

"Probably because we've been doing the wrong thing so long, we've just gotten used to it."

Megamind opened the door and took a deep breath. "Well, here goes certain failure."

"Hey, really, what could go wrong?" Minion asked as he hopped out of his car. "Yeah sure, they can laugh at us or run and scream in terror, but we're used to that, aren't we?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"And I really don't think that that'll happen. Not with my special three-layer fudge cake."

Megamind smiled. "You made a cake to bribe them?"

"Hey, they said to bring a dessert and a salad in the email."

"I know, I'm just remembering what happened with the popp-ed corn."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, this was made in a perfectly normal kitchen with everyday earth ingredients. And we're not shooting lasers at it, so it shouldn't explode."

"Let's not put it to the test."

Minion had also brought a salad, as the email had requested. Megamind took the bowl in order to help his friend. He himself had been asleep most of the time his friend was in the kitchen. The medication Dr. Hart had given him had allowed him a full twenty-five hours of sleep. As a result, he was a lot perkier and more emotionally balanced than he had been in days.

A group of children ran down the pathway, laughing and giggling. They stopped short when they saw the strange duo. However, Megamind noticed that, although they had initially been startled, that dissolved to a simple awkward shyness, not fear or disgust. This was looking better than he hoped.

"Are you Megamind?" one little girl asked.

"Yes, I am," Megamind said.

"And you're a good guy now?"

Megamind smiled. "I'm trying to be."

"My mom says that she never thought you were really a bad guy. You just had to find it out yourself. And there's a whole lot more people who were badder than you who got good in the end. Paul killed Christians before he met Jesus. And then he became a missionary!"

"Julie, you don't need to tell him that," another girl said. She looked a little older than the first.

"Well, that's what Mom says."

"But you didn't have to say all that stuff about Paul. That's just silly."

"_He_ doesn't think it's silly."

"Are you two sisters?" Megamind asked.

"Yes!" Julie said.

"This is Julie," the older one said. "I'm Anna. I'm the oldest."

"Well, I think we need a little help," Megamind said. "We need to find our picnic. I suppose you know where it is."

"Yes, we just came from there," Anna said. "I assume you're talking about the church picnic."

"Yes, that one."

"Follow us!"

"Could I carry the salad?" Julie asked.

"Oh, that's fine with me, as long as you don't drop it," Megamind said.

"To the picnic!" Julie cheered, holding the large bowl in front of her.

The lake was clear and sparkling that day. There was a row of picnic tables with salads, chips, and buns laid out on it. A couple barbeques were at one end, smoke rising from them. The wind played with the mismatched plastic tablecloths. Only a few feet away was a hill that reached towards the sandy beach. Many children were already playing in the water. Some distance away a group of teens were throwing a Frisbee around. The adults remained mostly around the tables. Some were helping with the food while others were setting out lawn chairs. A few remained by the lake, watching the children.

"Here it is!" Julie cried. "Come on! We can play with the Thompson's dog, go for a walk in the woods, or play in the lake. Which one would you like to do, Mr. Megamind?"

"I think it looks like they're almost ready with the food," Megamind said.

Julie frowned at the line of tables. "Yeah, we wouldn't want to miss that."

"Come on, let's get the dishes to the tables," Anna said. She pointed to a table further away. "The desserts go there. We don't eat them until _after_ everyone's had lunch. Mr. Minion, can you swim in fresh water?"

"Yes, that's a wonderful idea!" Megamind said, looking at his friend. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Of course!" Minion said. "It's been a while since I swam in a lake. But I don't want to miss anything, in case you need me."

"Oh, I'll be fine. Roxanne will be here soon, and I'm sure you won't have any lack of helpers to get you into your suit again."

"I'd love to help!" Julie cried.

"Still, I think I should wait until _after_ we eat," Minion said.

"It looks like we'll be eating soon," Anna observed. "Look, there's Pastor Jerry. I think he's going to say grace."

"Roxanne should be here by now," Megamind murmured.

"Come on, Julie, we got to go sit with Mom and Dad."

"You can sit with us if you like," Julie said, looking up at them.

"Are you sure they won't mind?" Megamind asked.

"My Mom wouldn't, I'm sure of it."

"Actually, sir, I don't think that's necessary," Minion said, pointing over Megamind's shoulder.

Megamind turned. "Roxanne! You certainly took your time."

The reporter smiled. She wore a white sundress with a matching hat. She carried a salad dish in one hand and dragged three long, slender bags behind her. "I wonder why I thought you two wouldn't be bringing chairs."

"Well, there's not really many lawn chairs at the lair," Minion said.

"It looks like you've got enough for all of us," Megamind said.

"Well, someone's got to take care of you," Roxanne said. "Oh, I got a message from Evelyn. I think Steve will be coming."

"Steve?" Minion asked.

"Yes. I think Evelyn's going to be with him. She says the socialization would do him good."

"Isn't he the guy who tried to murder Megamind?"

"Well, yes, but he's a whole lot better now. Seriously, you should have seen him at the hospital, the poor thing."

"Minion, give the boy a chance," Megamind said. "Personally, I'd like to see him again."

Roxanne smiled. "He's a lot better. He's still a little down in the dumps. Evelyn says that he's hardly psychotic anymore."

"See, Minion?" Megamind said, elbowing his friend. "He won't cause any trouble."

"I'm kind of worried about the 'hardly' part," Minion said.

"Come on, we've got to get closer if we want the good stuff!" Roxanne said.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the park, someone else was just arriving. Evelyn squinted as she gazed across the grassy field. Steve was leaning against her car casually, arms folded. He looked quite natural in his baggy jeans and soccer jersey. "Are you sure you've got the right parking lot?" he asked.

"No, I'm sure we don't," Evelyn said in her professional yet personable tone. "All the other lots were full. I'm just trying to see if I can – there! I think I see Roxanne. Well, are we all ready?"

Steve took out a small pan of squares. Evelyn was holding the salad, balancing it on her waist. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, his eyes travelling towards the ground.

"I've been through too much to be 'sure' of anything, but I've got a pretty good feeling about this. It's okay, Steve. It seems that we've made the right choice in medications for you, which takes care of your hallucinations, but we need to work hard on those other areas of your life your illness has affected. This little stint will help you develop some social skills, which are commonly eroded by schizophrenia. We won't stay too long, and I'll be right by you."

"Yes, I know you're qualified, but this just seems a little... weird." He seemed to draw into himself a little more. "Never thought I'd be afraid to go to a picnic," he murmured to himself.

"Come on, let's get going before they send out a search party," Evelyn commented. "Roxanne's seen us already. That's her waving."

Steve cracked a small smile as they began to walk forward. "It'll be nice to see Roxanne again. If this all goes well, I might start believing in that happy ending."

"I think you've got an excellent prognosis, Steve," Evelyn said. "I have seen others far worse than you. I'm one of the leading authorities in mental health rehabilitation, and Roxanne and Megamind seem eager to assist in any way possible."

"Megamind?"

"Yeah, Roxanne mentioned that he was considering a few ideas."

"Wow. Never would have guessed."

"It seems that you have all the support you need," Evelyn said as they climbed over a small hill. The picnic was right below them.

"I don't think I can ever thank you guys enough. That a guy like me would – Gah!"

Evelyn spun around. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw her patient spread-eagled on the ground with a dark figure above him, arms in dangerous proximity to his neck. A flash of blue was all that could be seen of his head. She took a step forward and tripped over her cane. A choice word came to mind but she bit it back. Of all the times to be clumsy it had to be now!

She looked up. She had to get to her feet and see to Steve's safety. The attacker didn't seem too large, so she could probably tackle him easily, but that was only if she could get her cane. She saw it flash silver right in front of her, so she reached forward...

Only to grab empty air. There was a pair of too-perfect legs right in front of her. She glared at the owner and saw a gorgeous face framed with blonde waves. Seeing that face, she had the irrational urge to carve four very red lines in it with her fingernails. Those plush, infuriating little lips parted. "Oh, Dr. Hart!" the woman giggled nervously as she tossed the cane to the side. "Nice meeting you!" And then she was gone.

This time, Evelyn did indeed say that word as she crawled for her cane. That intolerable harpy had wasted precious moments of Steve's time. She grabbed her cane and leapt to her feet, only to see the attacker leaving in a black blur. She gaped after him, burning to chase him, but her first responsibility was to her patient. She looked over at Steve, who was a little pale and wide-eyed, but fine. She turned around, wondering what had scared the man away, and nearly collided with Minion's fist.

"Oops!" the fish said, recoiling. "Sorry."

"No need," Evelyn said. "Steve, how are you?"

"Did you see them?" Roxanne asked breathlessly. Megamind was brandishing his dehydrating gun vigorously beside her, so she put her hand on his shoulder, grabbing his attention. "Did you notice anything?"

"I can't put any names with faces, I haven't been here long enough, but I might be able to identify the woman. I agree with Roxanne, Megamind. They've had too much a head start on us already for chasing them to be any good. I don't think any of you are skilled in tracking."

Megamind sighed, his determined expression vanishing to be replaced by an impatient one.

Steve got to his feet. "Dr. Hart..."

"Shhh, Steve, it's okay," Evelyn said. "Did he hurt you?"

"Only a little shaken. He caught me on the shoulder when he pushed me over. I don't know why—" he flinched and turned away.

"All we could see was that it was a man and a woman," Megamind said.

"I'll be calling them Mr. Blue and Mrs. Perfect-Prissy-Lips," Evelyn said with a grimace. Roxanne snorted with restrained laughter.

"It wasn't me," Megamind defended. "I was—"

"Of course it wasn't you!" Evelyn said. "His cranial capacity was nowhere near as substantial as yours! You think I'd know the difference? It was his hair, his hair was dyed blue. Don't know why anyone would do that."

"And the woman?" Roxanne asked.

"Magazine face. And body. She should have been on a runway. I think I've seen her before, though, once or twice."

"A runway?" Steve asked, confused. "For planes?"

"No, for models."

"Oh," Steve said before flinching yet again.

"What's wrong?" Evelyn asked. "Did he hurt you a little more than you're letting on, or is it something else? You've been flinching a little."

"It's nothing," he mumbled. He drew his arms up and held himself in a hug. "I'm just... he scared me a little. I think it'll be better to just go back to the hospital." His hands were trembling.

"The voices are back, aren't they?"

Instantly the confused knot of people quieted. They all looked at Steve, who slowly nodded. Minion moved slightly to be a little more in between Megamind and Steve, but Megamind didn't notice. He and Roxanne shared very similar expressions that showed they felt his burden. It was amazing just how one little sentence could have such an impact. There was no sound except the wind and the distant chatter and laughter from the picnic.

"Will they ever stop?" Steve whispered, his voice barely louder than the breeze.

"It's hard to say at this point if you will have a _complete_ recovery, but you are already doing much better," Evelyn said. "Did they just start now?"

Steve shook his head. "They were sort of murmuring earlier, in the background. If I didn't pay much attention to them, it was almost like they weren't there. But now… I don't know, ever since that guy tackled me it's hard to hear anything else."

"What are they saying? Are they telling you to do anything?"

"No, it's not like that. What made them come back?"

"Hallucinations can be linked to your mental state," Evelyn commented. "Many patients notice that they're better able to function in a quieter, calmer environment. If we get you back to the hospital so you can relax, then they may quieten a little."

"Yeah, I think that may be the best thing to do."

"Wait, you just got here!" Roxanne said. "You can't just leave. That would be a huge letdown."

Steve smiled sadly. "Sorry to ruin your picnic, guys."

"We'll go with you, if you want," Megamind said suddenly.

Both Roxanne and Minion stared at him. "Sir?" Minion asked. "Why would we want to do that?"

"Minion, he obviously needs it. There'll always be other picnics. Besides, I think he might feel better if we both have our first picnic together."

"Megamind," Roxanne gasped. "That's… That's so sweet of you."

"No, don't do that," Steve said, looking up. "I don't want to hold you back. I enjoyed plenty of picnics as a kid. This is nothing."

"Well, I'm not really in the mood for picnics right now," Megamind said with his typical dramatic gesture. His idea had surprised even him, and he was even more startled to find that he really didn't mind. It wasn't that he was scared. No, those two young girls had done well in making him feel welcome. He was going to miss the picnic, but he knew it wouldn't feel right without Steve. He felt warmth in his chest when he realized that he was actually being _kind_ to someone. The figure in his dreams was far from reality. "Right now I want to go back to the Evil Lair and find some way to track down those two miskreents."

"Miscreants?" Roxanne asked with a smirk.

"That's what I said, miskreents."

"I'll take you, Steve," Evelyn said. "And I'll stick around and see how you fare. It's my duty as your primary care provider. And, I have to admit, that little incident upset me, too. I think we both need time to calm down."

"I'm so sorry it had to be this way for you, Steve," Roxanne said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I was totally not expecting that. And you, too, Megamind."

"You guys could stay, still," Steve said. "The hospital is no place for hanging out."

"No, we'd love to drop by," Megamind argued, casting Minion a look when he tried to protest. "But we have some things to do first. I need to see if any brainbots were in the area."

"Right," Roxanne said. "I guess that means that we'll head back to the evil lair. After that, we could drop in and see how you're doing, Steve."

"Then I do believe it's settled," Evelyn said. "Steve and I will go to the hospital while you guys do some detective work. Excellent."

"Perhaps they might let us take some of the desserts!" Minion suggested.

"Yes!" Megamind said, turning to his friend and smiling eagerly. "And we can take them to the hospital and enjoy them there!"

"I really don't think that's a good idea, sir," Minion said hesitantly.

"What? Getting the desserts? You were the one who suggested it."

"No, it's... the hospital part. There'll be plenty of people there, some of them sicker than Steve. Who can tell what could happen there?"

"There's nothing to fear, Minion," Evelyn said. "The hospital is well staffed, and they are all trained in conflict resolution and de-escalation. Besides, the area in which Steve is currently staying has more stable patients. They are generally quite friendly."

"I agree, it sounds like a good idea," Roxanne asked.

"You guys can help yourself to picnic goodies," Evelyn said, heading back to the car. "I might stop somewhere and get some fast food for you and I, Steve."

"That sounds good," Steve said with a shaky laugh.

"Alright, see you there!" Roxanne said, waving. "So, Megamind, what say you to having some burgers?"

"Sure, you go ahead, I need to talk to Minion first," Megamind said. Roxanne nodded and headed off, so he drew closer to his friend. "Minion, you seem a little... afraid of Steve. He's fine now. In fact, now he's a victim. We have to help him."

"I know that, sir, but... he tried to kill you!" Minion said.

"Minion, he was _sick_."

"And he might always be sick," Minion said quietly. "I don't want to sound mean, sir, but what if he tries to kill you again? How can we be prepared for that? How do we even now his medicine's working? It wasn't working too great today."

"He didn't try to hurt anyone today, Minion."

"Still, there's always a possibility. Why are we helping him? What's so special about him? There are tons of other people we can help, in order to practice being good guys. Why don't we help someone who's a little less dangerous? Why him?"

Megamind sighed. "Because, Minion, I know what he feels like. I know how it feels to be alone just because you're different. You remember those days when it was just the two of us. Now it's changed. We have Roxanne, the city, and now Evelyn. Why can't Steve have something similar? Give him a chance, Minion. He shouldn't be left to live alone."

Minion drifted lower in his bowl, clearly reliving some painful memories. "You're right, sir. It's just… my job is to look after you. If he hurts you, then… I don't know what I'd do."

"Minion, you've done an excellent job. However, I think your job description's changed a little. Perhaps you can look after Steve, too."

"I'll do my best," Minion said, his face determined. "Desserts, coming right up!" he said before walking off.

Roxanne grabbed Megamind's arm. "And now we can have some lunch."

"Yes, but we can't stay here long," Megamind said. "I have hero things to do."

"And I wouldn't want to be the one to stop you," Roxanne said.

At that moment, Anna and Julie ran up. "Where were you?" Julie asked, grabbing Megamind's hand. "We thought you might miss lunch. Come on! The barbeque chips are almost all gone!"

"Julie, they have other bags," Anna said. "The picnic's just started, but some of the really good salads are almost gone. Why did you leave?"

"We saw some friends of ours, and we wanted to give them a proper greeting," Megamind said.

"Unfortunately, someone beat us to it," Roxanne growled. "And it wasn't a greeting I would ever want to see again."

"What happened?" Julie asked.

"Someone scared them, so they had to go home," Megamind said.

"That's sad."

"Why would anyone want to do that?" Anna asked.

"We don't know, but we're about to find out," Megamind said.

Roxanne put an arm around his shoulder. "We're heading back to the evil lair, which really must get a new name, and he's going to use his sciency creations and technical genius to find the perpetrators. But first we'll have lunch with you guys."

"But we can't stay long," Megamind said sadly. "We must get started."

"That's okay," Julie said despondently. "We understand. We'll miss you, Mr. Megamind and Miss Ritchi."

"It's just Roxanne," Roxanne said with a smile.

"And Megamind," Megamind said.

"There'll be another picnic in the spring," Anna said. "You just have to come to that one. And your friends."

"Where's Mr. Minion?" Julie asked.

"He's picking up some desserts for us," Roxanne said.

Julie turned with a smile to her sister. "Maybe we could help him!" And with that she was off.

"Why do you always have to run off?" Anna demanded. She sighed theatrically. "Now I have to go get her. Bye, guys!" She waved and shot off after her sister.

"Wow!" Roxanne said, peering at the table. "Looks like my mother's special layered salad is almost gone! They must have really liked it."

"Your mother made your salad?" Megamind asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Roxanne laughed. "No, I made it. It's her recipe, though. I always loved it as a kid. Still do now."

"I'm eager to try it. I'm sure you're just as incredible a chef as you are a reporter."

"Nah, I'm pretty much average."

"That remains to be seen."

Roxanne smiled, but she quieted down as she grabbed a hamburger bun and began to prepare it. After setting down the ketchup, she stared off into space with a frown. "Megamind?" she asked. "Why do you think someone would have attacked Steve?"

Megamind looked up to meet her eyes. "I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Because you are the formerly evil villain. Amongst all of us, you probably have the best understanding of villainous schemes."

Megamind frowned thoughtfully. "I have a few ideas. Steve doesn't seem to be the one who would have many enemies. Other than his seekosis, he's pretty much a nice guy. The police didn't have anything really big on him, remember. It was all small stuff. But Dr. Hart is a different story."

"You think she might have enemies? I wonder why. She's very kind."

"She's one of the top workers in her field, and she's been working for a while. She must have met at least _someone_ who didn't agree with her. Or perhaps it's a former patient."

"But why attack Steve?"

Megamind sighed. "Because that's the best way to hurt a person like Dr. Hart. Think about it, why was I always kidnapping you? Because that's what it took to hurt or scare Metroman. If I threatened him personally, it wouldn't have done much. Dr. Hart is Steve's doctor. She feels responsible for him. If something happened to him, she'd blame herself."

Roxanne nodded, looking solemnly at the tablecloth. "Then we really need to catch those guys. I'm ready to leave when you are."

Megamind put his arm around her shoulder. She had been doing it often to him, so he decided that it wouldn't hurt to return the gesture. He didn't see the delighted expression that fluttered onto her face. "Then let's go."

*A/N Ooh, so now there's a villain! I originally had something else planned for this chapter, but then I got this idea and thought the other way was too boring. And yes, stress can trigger hallucinations. In fact, some psychiatric patients gain such an insight into their illness that they can actually identify those states of mind that can actually precipitate hallucinations. Also, from what I understand, it's some sort of stress that makes a person start experiencing positive symptoms, what's termed a "psychotic break". Of course, don't take my word for it. I'm no expert. I can't cite my information, either.

I'm not giving up on this story. I'll feel so guilty if I do. But you may not see me much. I've got a life, you know. I have a novel that I've been trying to write for years, and just now I've gotten an outline together that should work. I'm thinking of making a Deviantart account and showing some pictures of the characters there. If you want to see, I'll be using the same name! And, of course, my job will be taking first priority. I'll have people's lives in my hands (and I'm not even legal to drink yet). I have so many ideas for this story, but there are other stories I want to write, too. I think once I finish up this little subplot, which will be about Chapter Thirteen, I will go on to other stories, but I will come back to this one. There's a whole lot of other OC's that are in my head. It's funny how I can't stand them in other people's fanfic's yet they always seem to crawl into mine!


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